Sea Salt & Olive Oil Parfait
This incredibly delicious pairing of extra virgin olive oil with sea salt is by far one of my favourite desserts I’ve made in a while. That parfait is rich, creamy, veryyy luxurious thanks to the EVOO, and yet so beautifully light. This is the kind of dessert that’ll make you smile with a blissful satisfaction, without making your pants feel any tighter.
It’s not an everyday flavour pairing you see in desserts, but surprisingly there’s an underlying warmth about this dessert. It’s everything you’d want in a dessert…and more.
Let’s break down what makes this dessert great..apart from the obvious deliciousness, of course.
That Olive Oil Parfait is an absolute treasure trove of flavour and texture. Like I mentioned, it’s everything you want from your parfait- rich, creamy, velvety, luxurious, and YET… light as air at the same time. Before you know it, you’d have the whole thing and very sneakily reaching for seconds.
You’d have to make sure you use the best quality extra virgin olive oil you can find. Please, do not, and I repeat, DO NOT use a cheap quality olive oil here. None of that light olive oil bullshit either. And especially, please, do not use olive oil meant for cooking. I’d rather you stay clear off this recipe, than use anything less than par here.
The entire premise of this parfait is based on the quality of your ingredient. EVOO tends to be slightly bitter, depending on the strength you use, but we want that in this parfait. Don’t worry it’s not bitter like coffee. It’s very subtle and is what makes this parfait so unique and flavourful. I’ve used a single press extra virgin olive oil here from a local Australian brand.
To compliment all that richness, comes in the sea salt. I should clarify- it’s not a salty dessert per se. It’s still a dessert, it is still sweet..ish. It has a slight undertone of saltiness at the back, just enough to cut through the richness and bring balance to the dessert. The secret piece that makes this so flavourful.
While the parfait is a flavour bomb in itself, what really brings the oomph factor is that crispy filo sheet. Man, it is so good!
Slightly caramelised stacks of flakey filo to add the much needed crunch factor here. I’ve layered the filo sheets with melted butter and a tad bit of sugar that caramelise and crisp in the oven. It is so good that you might wanna be careful of the casual snacking that may happen. But then, who could resist a good snack?
And finally, to tie it all together, candied pistachios. Pistachios are the nut of choice here. Any other nut wouldn’t work half as well. Reason being, pistachios are quite fatty and creamy in their texture- which complements the tone of the dessert beautifully. I mean, they’re also delicious so there’s that obviously. Tossing them in some caramel not only adds more crunch, but also an another layer of caramel, that complements the salty-ish, rich parfait.
And there you have it- a dessert masterpiece. This dessert is an inspiration from one of the restaurants here in Sydney, Nomad. They do a wonderful Halva & Olive Oil Ice Cream Sandwich and I wanted to create something similar. If I may say so myself, I think I may like my version even better hehe. The textures are amazing, the flavours are beautiful, very aromatic thanks to the evoo and it looks stunning- a treat for all senses. If you love good desserts, you’re gonna love this. Enjoy!
Recipe
Serves: 9
Ingredients
For the olive oil parfait:
108g egg yolks
60g caster sugar
20g water
120g good quality extra virgin olive oil (mild strength)
3g sea salt
250g heavy cream
5g gelatine leaf
For the filo sheet:
3 sheets of filo pastry, 42cm x 27cm
30-40g unsalted butter, melted
20g caster sugar
a pinch of salt
For the candied pistachios:
50g raw pistachios
32g caster sugar
1g salt
extra virgin olive oil, to finish
Method
For the olive oil parfait:
Soak the gelatine leaf in ice cold water for 5-10 mins or until completely soft. Squeeze out the excess water and keep aside.
Whip 240g of the heavy cream to soft speaks. Keep refrigerated.
Weigh the remaining 10g of heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl. Keep aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, add the egg yolks and whip on medium-high speed until light and pale in colour, and the yolks look fluffy and voluminous. Reduce speed to low and continue whipping.
Meanwhile, weigh the sugar and water in a small pot and place over medium heat. Cook to 115°C.
Once the sugar reaches the temperature, pour in the hot sugar syrup into the whipping yolks, in a single stream. Increase the speed to medium and continue whipping until the mixture cools down to room temperature.
With the mixer still running, pour in the extra virgin olive oil, in 3 additions, allowing the previous addition to mix completely before adding more.
Add the sea salt and whip until the mixture looks smooth and fluffy- well emulsified. Occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl. This is the pate bombe.
Transfer the pate bombe to a large mixing bowl.
Heat up the reserved 10g of heavy cream in a microwave until hot. Add the bloomed gelatine and stir until the gelatine has melted.
Add to the pate bombe mix and fold using a spatula.
Lastly, use a spatula to fold the semi-whipped cream into the pate bombe mix. Be careful not to deflate the parfait.
Transfer the parfait mix to a piping bag. Fill the silicon mould* with the parfait mix. Tap on the counter top to release any air bubbles. Freeze completely. (I’ve used this mould)
For the filo sheets:
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a baking tray with baking paper. Keep aside.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and salt together.
Place a sheet of filo pastry on a large chopping board. Cover the remaining sheets with a damp tea towel to prevent from drying.
Brush generously with the melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar. Place another sheet of filo on top and press down to stick. Brush again with the melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Repeat the layering until all the filo sheets are used.
Use a sharp knife and cut the layered filo pastry into half. Brush one half with melted butter and stack the remaining half on top. You should be left with 6 layers of filo pastry.
Use a sharp knife and cut the filo into rectangles of 3 cm x 8.5 cm. Place the rectangles on the baking tray, spaced 1 cm apart from one another.
Place another layer of baking paper on top and put another baking tray over it to slightly weigh down the filo. Bake for 5 mins.
Remove the baking tray and bake for another 5-7 mins or until the filo pastry is golden brown and crispy. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container until use.
For the candied pistachios:
Preheat oven to 160°C.
Roast the pistachios for 10 mins, until aromatic.
In a small pot, add the sugar and place over medium heat. Make a dry caramel.
Add the roasted pistachios and salt and stir to coat the nuts completely in sugar.
Remove from heat and transfer the candied pistachios onto a silpat. Cool completely.
Chop into smaller, finer pieces. Transfer to a ziplock bag and store in the freezer.
Assembly:
Remove the frozen parfait from the silicon mould and place each log onto a sheet of the baked filo. Defrost in the fridge for 1-2 hours. **
When ready to serve, place the dessert on a plate. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and garnish with the chopped pistachios. Sprinkle a pinch of flakey sea salt on top and serve. Bon appetite!
Notes:
*- Fill free to use a different silicon mould of your choice. Make sure to cut the filo pastry accordingly. Alternatively, you can also assemble this in a dessert glass.
**- you can also enjoy this semi-frozen, if you’d like as a summer dessert. To serve semi-frozen, defrost on the countertop for 20-30 mins, depending on your environment.
If you enjoyed that and tried it at home, please tag me at @myyummyspatula on Instagram so that I can see all your bakes! For more BTS stories, updates and fun, you can follow long here:
