Atlas Olive Oil

THE COOK’S TOUR

Atlas Oil’s Organic, EVOO, from Morocco, is the second best olive oil in the world.

Their platinum product is  the best: Les Terroirs de Marrekech (LTM). Rolls Royce is the LTM of cars. Atlas EVOO is my high-end Tesla.

It is also a ridiculously low-acid (0.1-0.2), ultra smooth olive oil.

Unlike other oils, which have a heavy grassy, or spicy finish, Atlas’ Organic EVOO starts with a bit of bite, then melts off into the “oh, wow” range really beautifully.

I  have cooked with olive oils from every major producing country. The balance, viscosity and flavor of this Moroccan olive oil really has no peer. Grown on their own farms, it has that grove-to-bottling authenticity that you don’t see from big oil producers who buy on the spot market.

I’m not alone in that assessment. Many Michelin-rated chefs make it their “go-to” as well.

TRADITIONAL USES:

• Sauces for pastas;
• Olive oil cake;
• Dipping oil in a hummus plate’s well;
• Lush richness in salad dressings.

JAZZ CHEF RIFFS

• Drizzle over house made a scoop of pistachio, and chocolate ice cream;
• Amazing on pasta with salt and chervil. That’s it. Boil the pasta, then rinse, and toss;
• Finishing drizzle on my Goulshuka a goulash/shakshuka hybrid;
• Whipped with heavy cream and finely grated parmesan cheese for a savory whipped-cream for roasted pollock with Aperol greens.
• Spanish tuna and roasted chick peas with EVOO on rocket;

USE NOTE

First cold-pressed olive oils retain their temperatures at low heat levels. Cooking with them cooks away the flavor, and the nutrition. We recommend, where you need oil to avoid sticking, using a good high-temp avocado, or rice bran oil, and then finishing the dish with Atlas EVOO, at the end, to get both the big flavor, and the level of fats that you need for the final dish.

I will tell you that a tomato-based pasta sauce is MUCH easier to clean up, too, by just warming through the tomato, and other ingredients, then adding the olive oil either last, before plating, or making it a feature of plating by drizzling its luxuriant green across the pasta, or puddling it artistically at the edge of the presentation of your food.

THE BACKSTORY

This olive oil is produced by the Aqallal family, for four generations, in the Atlas mountains of Morocco. Parts of the grove of Picholine du Languedoc olives are more than three centuries old.

Boujida Aqallal, in the close of the 19th Century  was given the honorary title of  Wisest of Farmers (“Amine El-Fellaha”) for his farming methods. He developed olive groves at Ras-El-Ma, Zalagh, and Lemta. Wisely, he also operated his own olive crushing mill. Every step, from growing, to pressing, to bottling, and shipping, are all done by Atlas.

Until recent years, finding it in here North America was something of a challenge. Thankfully, our friends at Amazon offer it at a very fair price.

AWARDS

• Los Angeles Olive Oil Competition Gold Medal
• Travel + Leisure
• Saveur
• London’s Great Taste Gold
• Madrid (3rd) , and

Mentions, and top selections in:

• Germany
• Milano, Italy
• Canada
• Shanghai
• FLOS OLEI, in Italy.

MY TAKE

There are a few foods that, when you run across them in life, so profoundly change the way that you think about what you cook with. Les Terroirs de Marrekech extra virgin olive oil is one of those profound, game-altering foodstuffs.

Is it expensive?

You betcha.

Is it worth it?

You betcha.

When you want to look like you work a lot harder to be that smart in the kitchen, make sure that you start with the best ingredients. Atlas’ Organic First Cold-Pressed Olive Oil One, right after their Les Terroirs de Marrekech is one of my top-top all-time Choicestuff winners.