Saturday, July 30, 2016

Celebrating California Olive Oil at Scopa (Venice, CA)

Did you know you can trust only 20% of the olive oils that you find in a supermarket?  There are a lot of fraudulent olive oils out in the market, so you have to know what you are buying. For example, you can go local and buy California olive oil. I recently attended a tasting and dinner with California Olive Ranch and tried their oils by themselves and in dishes prepared by Chef Antonia Lofaso at Scopa!

And a tip when buying olive oils in the supermarket: look for dark bottles, single country of origin, and seal of authenticity. Harvest date would be a plus, as well!

My evening started with some appetizers and cocktails, all of which feature California Olive Ranch olive oils!
Yes, the cocktail, too. The Sierra Norte was made with mezcal, aperol, serrano peppers, pineapple, and lemon, with California Olive Ranch Limited Reserve Olive Oil. The oil added a nice, unique mouthfeel to the drink.
CA Olive at Scopa
The first appetizer: Cured salmon, spring peas, toasted caraway, topped with the same olive oil as the cocktail.
Ricotta crostini
CA Olive at Scopa
Veal tartare, capers, shallots, fresh horseradish, seasoned with California Olive Ranch Mild & Buttery Olive Oil.
CA Olive at Scopa
California may be known for the almonds and wines and so on, but did you know that California also produces 95% of the olives grown in the US? There's about 27,000 acres of olive orchards in the state!

We tasted a couple of the California Olive Ranch olive oils (and a fake supermarket one!). You swirl and sip just like wine, but just like wine, olive oils can also go bad, so don't keep them in your pantry too long.
CA Olive at Scopa

Charcuterie board, with olives, of course.
CA Olive at Scopa
We had treat after treat, including a variety of oysters.
CA Olive at Scopa
Baby kale salad
CA Olive at Scopa
For this pork shank ravioli, Chef Antonia uses more olive oil than usual (instead of egg yolk) to showcase the California olive oils. Delicious!
DSC02742
Rigatoni pasta with tomato and ricotta
CA Olive at Scopa
Eggplant parmesan
CA Olive at Scopa
The fish and meat featured are prepared simply but perfectly, in order to again showcase the olive oil. We had a whole branzino with lemon.
CA Olive at Scopa
T-bone steak, with olive oil-based sauce, of course.
CA Olive at Scopa
For desserts, we of course had Scopa's popular Cannoli
CA Olive at Scopa

California Olive Ranch's olive oils have won multiple awards and they are also committed to sustainable farming and business practices. Obviously the oils were great both to taste by themselves or for cooking, as Chef Antonia Lofaso demonstrated with the wonderful dinner at Scopa. With the various fake "extra virgin olive oils" out there, it's good to know that we have a local alternative that is high quality, sustainable, and certified extra virgin!

Scopa Italian Roots
2905 West Washington Boulevard
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292
(310) 821-1100
http://scopaitalianroots.com/
Scopa Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

0 comments:

Gourmet Pigs   © 2008. Template Recipes by Emporium Digital

TOP