Bringing tastes of Italy home

Recipes can be simple or the can be complicated.

They can be flavorful or they can be bland.

The can be colorful or they can be monochrome.

But what matters most is if you like it and will eat it.

And it all starts it the right ingredients. The ingredient that took this recipe from good to great was olive oil. Olive oil can have a lot of flavor, but it will not dominate a dish and a little goes a long way. I was not going to be doing shots of olive oil with the recipe like I did when learning about olive oil in Italy, but I was going to be using the same type of olive oil I had there to bring a little bit of that flavor home.

In Italy, the second largest exporter in the world of olive oil, olives are harvest between October and December. At some olive orchards, most of the work is still done by hand. Frantoi Redoro hand picks their olives, gathering them in a net under the trees before starting the process of turning them into oil in less than 24 hours. In Italy, the process ends here, but for US olive oils, other ingredients may be mixed in such as canola oil for sweetness. Dark bottle help preserve the flavor from the light sensitive compounds in the oil. And if you are even feeling adventurous enough to do a shot of olive oil, it is recommended to warm it slightly between your hand while swirling the glass, smelling it and take small sips to slurp or breathe in the flavors through your teeth. Ingredients like pure extra virgin olive oil are possible to find in the US and other part of the world beyond Italy to transform your next meal.

Ingredients

• cheese tortellini (at home I buy a premade refrigerated pack from the store)

• Redoro olive oil

• 10-20 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

• parmesan cheese

• Italian spices

Instructions

1. Cook tortellini according to package and strain water

2. Drizzle olive oil over tortellini

3. Add tomatoes, cheese and spices to taste

   *I do not measure these ingredients. I simply add until I achieve the flavor I am going for. Start with a little and gradually work your way up. This will also help the ingredients spread out in the dish so that every bite is delicious.

4. Toss ingredients to mix

5. ENJOY!