I can’t deny how excited I am that every day more and more people are encouraged to try the products in our pantry section. It’s not easy to explain why, but imagine there’s some ingredient that’s special to you and that you use in your kitchen, and one day you mention it to a friend. Another day, without warning, they come to you and say, "By the way, that ingredient you told me about, I saw it in a store and tried it—I loved it!". Can you imagine how happy that comment makes you? Something similar is what I feel every day we receive reviews of the products from the Pantry. Many are products I have a special affection for, products that help me in my day-to-day cooking or on special occasions, and seeing them enjoyed as much as I enjoy them warms my heart.
I have spoken on other occasions about the Pantry. You’ll know there are products that get you out of a jam the day you have an unexpected meal, and others that help you add a different touch to an everyday dish without much hassle. But we’ve expanded the section with several product ranges, and I wanted to share it.
The first ones I want to mention are the La Tourangelle oils. The success has been so overwhelming that we ended up adding practically their entire collection. These oils are different from the ones we usually use in our kitchens, and they have been made using traditional methods for 150 years now. What kind of oil is so special? I'm talking about nut oils, such as hazelnut, walnut, almond, or pistachio oil: delicious oils made from very high-quality nuts, from which a 100% natural and healthy oil is obtained, very rich in Omega 3, antioxidants, and essential vitamins. These oils are ideal both for dressing a green or pasta salad and for preparing meat and fish on the grill or in the oven, while they also help enhance the flavor of cookies and sponge cakes, giving them a touch that is as delicate as it is delicious.
I’d say the nut oils are the ones people have tried the most, but I’d also like to introduce the Thai special oil, which is fantastic when you cook vegetables in a wok or on the grill, or dress salads; and also the pizza oil, with that spicy touch so many of you enjoy. And I can’t leave out the sesame oil: perhaps it’s the oil that sounds least familiar here, but its uses are many and you’ll love it. It’s an oil that has traditionally been used in Asian cooking: in Chinese and Korean cuisine, it’s the oil added at the end to finish off the flavor of dishes after cooking; or in Japanese cuisine, a 10% amount of sesame oil is usually added to the oil used for tempura or frying, to create a rich, full flavor. It’s also used to make a sofrito, in salads, or with meat and fish. Wherever you use it, it’s healthy, smooth, and special.
Moving a little away from oils, I also wanted to tell you about the latest addition to the Pantry: the Olasagasti product range. Although it is a brand known for the quality of its canned fish products (some of which you can find in the pantry), I would like to highlight the quality of a range that I love and that they have given a clear and fun name: "Open and devour". That's right - you can open the package and eat it, just like that! You'll enjoy tuna loin with pisto, Sicilian-style, or tuna with piperrada. All of them can be served just as they are, or as a side dish, for example, with griddled fish; but I encourage you to mix them with pasta or rice: the result will be an easy and very tasty salad.
In the same range you’ll also find Donostiarra-style anchovies, prepared the traditional way, fried with garlic, ideal to serve as an appetizer... Or to make a delicious, energy-boosting sandwich!
Finally, I also wanted to tell you about some small delights you’ll love when preparing appetizers: for more adventurous palates looking for bold flavors, I recommend the new black olive cream or pepper cream; since a snack spread can’t be without cheese but can vary in texture, I invite you to check out the variety cheese mousses or the parmegiano and truffle cream; and to add a taste of the sea, some toast with Cantabrian cream will win you over - tuna loin and anchovy cream, a real treat! And to go with meat and fish, you can surprise people with the special mustards offered by Edmond Fallot: wine mustard and honey mustard.
Olasagasti olive cream, Tartuflanghe parmegiano and truffle cream, Olasagasti tuna and anchovy cream and Edmond Fallot special mustards
Making that everyday dish special can be very easy. All it takes is changing the dressing, adding a different touch of flavor, or serving it with something else. I encourage you to browse through our Pantry, and I hope those reviews you keep sending us continue to be just as good and surprising.
