Extra Virgin Olive Oil Sundaes

This post was created in partnership with Olive Oils from Spain. All opinions are our own. 

If you can be in love with a country, my country crush is Spain. On our website and podcast, I’ve openly gushed about my time studying in Madrid in college, now 14 years ago (gulp!). It’s where my first inkling of an interest in food started. My host mom made homemade paella for us, and I fell hard for the traditions of a food culture that’s hundreds of years in the making. Based in Madrid, I traveled to several different regions in Spain: gorgeous Galicia where waves crash against rocky cliffs, fairy-tale Barcelona with its fanciful architecture, and the magical Alhambra castle perched high on a hill in Granada. Thinking about Spain sometimes makes my heart skip a beat. The language, food, land, and people left a mark on my soul that’s been there ever since. So it’s with great pleasure that we highlight a Spanish product in today’s recipe: Olive Oils from Spain.

Believe it or not, Spain is the world’s olive oil leader in terms of the quality, production, marketing and the export of olive oils. They produce a whopping 1,400,000 tons per year, which is about 50% of all the olive oil produced worldwide. With almost 300 million olive trees in Spain, there are 260 different olive varieties that give a wide spectrum of flavors, aromas and textures. Olive Oils from Spain is the name of an umbrella brand that represents olive oil brands and products born in Spain.

For a recipe to highlight this incredible product, we wanted something simple that would let the quality of the olive oil shine through. Perhaps you’ve heard of olive oil being drizzled over ice cream? We’d heard of it for years, but had never tried it. Let us be the first to assure you: you’ve got to try this! Tasting the fruity, smooth olive oil in contrast with the rich and sweet ice cream is something otherworldly. Only the best extra virgin olive oil can be used to pull this off, so make sure to find a quality bottle. The extra virgin olive oil from Spain that we used was rich and fruity, with a peppery finish. As the final touch for our extra virgin olive oil sundaes, we wanted something a bit festive. Enter chocolate lace: a simple but showy way to add chocolate to a dessert. Simply melt chocolate, drizzle it into an irregular pattern, and freeze. The result is a delicate chocolate detail that can be placed on the sundae to add an architectural element. It looks stunning but takes only a few minutes to put together.

And there you have it! Using just three ingredients of ultra high quality, you’ve got a stunner of a dessert that’s simple and sumptuous. It’s perfect for holiday celebrations, or anytime you’re looking for a no-fuss dessert when entertaining. To find an olive oil from Spain, simply look at your local grocery for any bottle manufactured in Spain. Alex and I are hoping 2018 is the year we get to experience Spain together in person–in the meantime, we’ll stick with Olive Oils from Spain drizzled over vanilla ice cream!

To get the full recipe, head over to the Olive Oils from Spain Blog.

To read more about Olive Oils from Spain, follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

This recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free.

Did you make this recipe?

If you make our extra virgin olive oil sundaes, we’d love to hear how they turned out. Leave a comment below or share a picture on Instagram and mention @acouplecooks and @oliveoilsspain.

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