Oli Solivellas
cooking with their olive oil, Mallorca.
There is an olive tree farm between the towns of Alcudia and Pollença, northeast of the island, which has stayed in the Solivellas family for years.This finca, known as Es Guillent, used to be an old Arab ‘alqueria’ or farmstead, and has been producing olive oil for two generations.There, the family-run operation cultivates local olive varieties like Aberquina or Picual with extreme care, but also experiments with foreign varieties, as well as many from other Mediterranean Islands. The Koroneki variety from Crete, for example, results in olive oil both silky and fragrant, and we loved pairing it with some of the desserts during our retreat.
At Oli Solivellas, they are able to take on the whole process of olive oil extraction, as they have all the equipment necessary both to centrifuge and bottle on site, and transform the fruit into oil with precise timing. These are critical processes for the production of the best quality olive oils whereby the fruit is treated without allowing it to oxidize or become corrupted.
As such, olive oil is like good wine - a food more than an ingredient - and is vibrant, alive and rich with a variety of subtle flavors. We tasted the different Solivellas oils during our cooking splurge back in October, and our guests were able to familiarize themselves with this precious Mediterranean produce. We also encouraged them to experiment according to their preferences. There wasn’t a breakfast, lunch or dinner where we didn’t have at least three bottles of this exquisite golden liquid on the table. We drizzled it over toast, soup, vegetables and fish, and even over fruit and other desserts. The reality is that all dishes can be boosted and enhanced with olive oil.
LINKS:
Photography by Deepi Ahluwalia and Jessie Webster.