Three sandwiches with the European flag that feature extra virgin olive oil. They are called Merkel sandwich, Queen sandwich and Pope sandwich and recall the three countries – Germany, Great Britain and Italy – protagonists of the “Olive Oil, European High Quality” campaign co-financed by the European Union, Italy and Unaprol with the aim of spreading knowledge about and promoting consumption of extra virgin olive oil.
Masterminding them is the chef of La Prova del Cuoco, Daniele Reponi, who reveals the recipes and even a few secrets for making the best use of extra virgin olive oil. The three sandwiches created by the chef enshrine a series of excellence of Italian culinary tradition, chosen to exalt the characteristics of the oil.
The Merkel sandwich is inspired by German culinary tradition and celebrates the classic union of würstel sausage and sauerkraut, obviously revisited for the occasion. The würstel sausage – if well made and undergoing careful selection and strict controls – can be a very tasty and complete product. In order not to cover the extra virgin olive oil too much, it was decided to use an ingredient composed only of parts of the leg of Po heavy pigs. These are animals with two years of life before slaughter, and it is precisely this aspect which gives the Italian würstel sausage sweetness and delicacy.
The Queen sandwich is a nod in the direction of Anglo-Saxon culinary tradition. It is a remake of the famous “fish and chips” with an extra virgin olive oil touch. It was decided to prepare nuggets of blue fish, specifically cod, flour them and fry them in extra virgin olive oil. This step is intended to highlight one of the least exploited characteristics of extra virgin olive oil which is its ability to produce excellent fried, flavourful and very digestible food.
The Pope sandwich recounts the food of Italy with salamis and cheeses enhanced by the use of extra virgin olive oil. The choice of capocollo was born from the need to make the most of the union with extra virgin olive oil, which called for a meat cut that was not too fatty. Mozzarella fiordilatte gives juiciness to the filling and orange zest a sensation of freshness, highlighting a perfect combination that consists in the union between extra virgin olive oil and citrus. Beads of oil are used to give this sandwich originality and playfulness, and demonstrating the versatility of extra virgin olive oil.