We have recently become converts to rapeseed oil and we use it a lot, but we have not fully given up on our love of olive oil, especially after our recent trip to Sicily where we had the great pleasure of seeing the olives growing and trying some stunning oil cooked in fabulous dishes.

With the Mediterranean diet back in fashion and having just returned from our travels, we were delighted to be sent a small sample of Just Olives’ extra virgin olive oil.

Olive oil is an extremely versatile product, but it really only excels when the quality of the product is able to shine through. With this in mind, we tried out the oil in two different formats: cooking with it and using it in its rawest form combined with balsamic vinegar for a ciabatta dip.

Cooking with it, we were impressed that as an oil to fry mince in for our lasagna dish there was no issue with the oil burning quickly. We have had that issue before with some cheaper olive oils and it also added some depth of flavour to both the mince beef and also the vegetables that made up our lasagna without leaving that claggy oily taste that can be both overpowering and unpleasant when you use cheap oil. As you can see, the lasagna turned out a success (in our opinion anyway!) and in part this was due to a good balance between the healthy fat from the oil helping to cook the lean mince and vegetables to make up a real Italian flavour.

Of course, as mentioned earlier, the real test was of course the oil itself in its rawest form as a dip for bread. While you may be surprised with the hint of bitterness, this is in fact a natural sign to show how fresh the oil is and is how the natural antioxidants which make it so good for you taste! If it is lacking, you are probably using cheap olive oil! Overall, it worked really well as a dip and certainly left us thinking about how to ensure we match our preference for rapeseed oil with the overall benefits of olive oil.