I couldn’t cook without olive oil, but I rarely give it centre stage as an ingredient. These recipes will work with any good extra-virgin number, though. In my kitchen I have three olive oils: a standard for shallow frying, a good but affordable extra-virgin for nearly everything else, and a really good first-press extra-virgin that I spend a bit more on and use for best. This season’s is still fresh and green from the late summer harvest. To get it at its best, search out a good, unfiltered oil from a deli. A good olive oil improves almost anything.
Fig, olive oil and hazelnut cake (pictured above)
I love using olive oil in cakes: it feels lighter than butter and changes the crumb. I use it in the batter then drizzle it over the warm cake for an extra hit. Olive oil cake keeps for longer, too. Here it’s complemented with figs and hazelnuts for a just-sweet-enough treat, making the most of the last of the figs or any underripe ones.
Prep 25 min
Cooking 1 hr
Makes 1 cake
For the cake
170ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for greasing
3 eggs
200g golden caster sugar, plus a little extra for dusting
100g hazelnuts, finely ground
250g white spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 large pinch salt
2 unwaxed lemons
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
8 figs
1 sprig rosemary
For the syrup
1 sprig rosemary
70ml of maple syrup
70ml extra-virgin olive oil
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Grease a 20cm cake tin with a little oil and line the base with greaseproof paper. Dust the inside of the tin with two tablespoons of sugar, moving it around so the sides are evenly coated, then discard any excess.
Put all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl, grate in the zest of both lemons and mix together well.
Use a standup mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or an electric hand-whisk to beat the eggs and sugar together until thick and fluffy – five to seven minutes.
Put the oil in a bowl, squeeze in the juice of one lemon, add the vanilla bean paste and mix well.
With the mixer on high speed, slowly pour in the oil mixture in a steady stream until combined, then keep mixing for a further three to four minutes. Turn off the mixer, fold in a third of the flour and mix well, then repeat in two more batches with the rest of the flour. Pour the batter into the lined cake tin.
Trim the tops off the figs, cut into quarters and scatter them carefully on top of the batter, pushing some in as you go. Sprinkle the leaves of one rosemary sprig over the top. Bake for 55 minutes or until golden and firm to the touch. Leave to cool.
Heat a medium pan over a high heat and add the leaves of one rosemary sprig. Toast for two minutes, tossing the sprigs around a little. Add the maple syrup and juice of the remaining lemon and keep stirring over a high heat for about four minutes, until the syrup thickens. Drizzle the syrup and the oil over the cake, and serve with creme fraiche or thick yoghurt.
Olive-oil roasted tomatoes with yoghurt
Tomatoes and olive oil are the culinary equivalent of Fred and Ginger – they just work. Here, the tomatoes are roasted in the oil, making them buttery and the oil vine-scented and sweet. I add spices, but they’d be just as good on their own. Serve warm with yoghurt for a welcome hot-cold contrast.
Prep 15 min
Cook 2 hr
Serves 4-6
900g tomatoes, a mix of sizes and shapes
2 heads garlic
Salt
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
350ml extra-virgin olive oil
To serve
200ml natural yoghurt
1 small bunch basil
1 small bunch dill
Zest of 1 lemon
Toasted sourdough
Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas 2. Use a baking tray to fit the tomatoes snugly, about 30cm x 15cm. If it’s too big, it will affect the amount of oil you need. Put the tomatoes into the tray, leaving on any stalks or vines.
Slice the tops off the garlic and nestle them between the tomatoes. Season well with salt and scatter the spices over. Pour in the olive oil, making sure it comes two-thirds of the way up the tomatoes. Roast for two hours.
Let the tomatoes cool a little, then squeeze out the garlic from its papery skins and add to the tomatoes. If you plan on keeping the tomatoes for longer than a few days, you could store them in a sterilised jar.
To serve, put a few spoonfuls of yoghurt on to a plate and top with some still-warm tomatoes and garlic. Scatter some basil and dill over. Grate a little lemon zest and drizzle some of the tomato oil on to each plate. I like to eat this with some warm, charred sourdough bread.
