National Culinary Review - September 2011

Victor Casanova uses ginger oil for this tonno crudo—ahi tuna, coriander seed and lemon salt—on the menu at Culina.

Guard’s ahi poke, which is served with hijiki seaweed, miso emulsion and an avocado purée. Peanut oil is served with Hong Kong style steamed fish, while Persian lime oil, with its citrus/floral flavor, brings life to Guard’s hamachi crudo.

For frying, Guard reaches for vegetable oil. His favorite choices for baking are canola, peanut, walnut, olive and corn oils.

Sessoms has been using alternative oils for 12 years. One of his favorites is the pumpkin-seed oil he first tasted in Austria and now makes himself. “In Austria, they often dress salads with pumpkin-seed oil, which has a dark green color and a very pungent flavor,” Sessoms says. “If you know the taste of toasted pumpkin seeds, that’s exactly what the oil tastes like.”

WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE?
At Table, a 48-seat bistro-style restaurant
in Asheville, N.C., chef/owner Jacob
He likes pairing his oils with the fruit, nut
or vegetable from which they are derived.
“When you do that, it really hits the palate in a
different way and makes the dish come alive.”

OIL INFUSION TIPS

“Explore and play around with oil infusions,” says Jacob Sessoms, chef/ owner, Table, Asheville, N.C. “Heat a spoonful, see what it tastes like and what it reminds you of, and consider how you can pair it with other flavors. Before you get started, though, do some research on the temperature flashpoint of each oil, remembering that a high-flashpoint oil is used for cooking, while a low-flashpoint oil is used for dressing.”

The process of infusing oils is so simple that the possibilities are endless, says Victor Casanova, chef at Culina, Modern Italian at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. “Try anything, from fruit to spices, and you’ll find you can create really unique flavored oils.”

By playing around, you can see what works, says Shea Gallante, chef/owner, Ciano, New York. “Infused oils are a simple and inexpensive way to get some good end results. They keep well, and they can really enhance a dish.”

He serves radicchio salad with hard-cooked egg, creme fraiche, radish, toasted pumpkin seeds, salmon roe and pumpkin-seed oil. Another favorite is argon-seed oil, which Sessoms uses as a garnish for a roasted cauliflower dish served with Marcona almonds, capers, raisins and ras el hanout.

“Argon oil is also known as Moroccan almond oil, and it’s derived from a nut tree in North Africa,” Sessoms says. “It’s a thick, rich oil, dark-green in color, and carries a wonderful earthy, nutty flavor. When I pair it with roasted cauliflower and ras el hanout, it brings a lovely tagine-like characteristic to the dish.”

Macadamia nut and lime oils enhance ahi poke at TAG Raw Bar.

Most nut oils have a low flashpoint but a potent flavor profile. Sessoms uses hazelnut oil to carry flavor to his artichoke salad, which is served with hazelnuts and shaved aged goat cheese.