Chef Massimo Veronesi, executive chef and owner of Va Bene Pasta and Deli, cooks up a delicious menu highlighting the bestselling products from Oliviers & Co. All specialty items were used simply to emphasize its flavor and specifically paired to enhance the creations of chef Massimo.
For appetizers, we were served thin slices of tuna carpaccio perfectly arranged, topped with creamy stracciatella cheese, thin slices of celery, dill, and capers and finished with a generous drizzle of Olivier & Co’s Lemon Specialty Olive Oil. I found that it was best to add freshly ground black pepper to make the flavor pop.
Fresh pasta is chef Massimo’s specialty and I could not wait to get my hands on this dish. It was simple and looked simple, but most of the time the simplest dishes come out the best. Sometimes, overdoing it and adding too many elements creates confusion in a dish. Chef Massimo’s homemade linguine pasta sautéed in garlic — also called aglio e olio — had clams, zucchini and basil. It was again drizzled with the Olivier and Co Lemon Specialty Olive Oil.
Next came the tomato risotto using Carnaroli rice. It was cooked with pureed sundried tomatoes with some fresh basil, then topped with a peeled and deseeded tomato segment, Parmesan shavings and buffalo stracciatella cheese. The stracciatella, when mixed with the warm dish, became a lightly creamed tomato-based risotto and it was so good. The dish was also drizzled with Oliviers & Co 2017 Affiorato Oil.
There are three dishes available for dessert. The first was called the Summer Panna Cotta. It was a vanilla and orange panna cotta drizzled with a bit of the Oliviers & Co Blueberry Balsamic Condiment. The second dessert was called Olive Oil Ice Cream — vanilla ice cream drizzled with Oliviers & Co 2017 Affiorato oil topped with honey, chopped almonds and lemon zest. My personal favorite was the strawberry and fig dessert. It consisted of vanilla ice cream with fresh sliced strawberries and a drizzle of Oliviers & Co fig condiment.
The special menu will be exclusively available until July 16 at the Va Bene Pasta Deli in Central Square, Bonifacio High Street. To sample more products from Oliviers & Co, drop by their boutiques in Central Square, Bonifacio High Street and Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center.
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