We confidently predicted, at the end of the year, that flavoured oils were a thing of the past, and would soon be disappearing from menus faster than snow off a ditch in February. And so, of course, no sooner had we confidently sounded off, than we come across a bottle of extra virgin olive oil scented with bergamot, made by Oliviers & Co.
One of the serving suggestions on the label is to drizzle the oil over a salad of lentils. So, I duly cooked some Puy lentils with lots of carrots and garlic and ginger and a piece of star anise (which adds a lovely, lingering note to lentils).
At the table, I poured a little of the bergamot oil on to the hot lentils, and its sweet, orangy hit was fresh and charming, a delicious combination.
Oliviers & Co Bergamot Oil is available from Terroirs, Morehampton Road, Donnybrook, tel 01-6671311, at £8 for 250ml.