My mom and dad grew up in Europe. Given those roots, pecan pie and pumpkin pie were never on my family’s Thanksgiving menu in this country. I finally got to try both pies in college. It turns out I loved them.

Now I’ve discovered what could possibly be a better – or at least healthier – recipe for pecan pie. It involves making the crust from extra virgin olive oil instead of butter.

The recipe comes to us via our friends at Viking Range Corp. and culinary educator Elaine Trigiani.

The Viking experts say the key to making a shortcrust pastry with olive oil is to get the oil to the consistency of butter.

“Measure the oil, pour it into a glass bowl, and place it in the freezer for about 1-1/2 hours, or until it is very thick, but not too hard,” they advise.

I love the idea of substituting extra virgin olive oil in place of butter for health reasons. In addition, the flavor of EVOO adds a new flavor dimension. Olive oil expert Fran Gage says a delicate extra virgin olive oil such as Arbequina is a good one for baking.

You can check out our selection of dishes for the Thanksgiving holiday. They all use extra virgin olive oil.

Bon appétit,

Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch

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