Kalo Mina, as we say in Greek. Happy new month to you all!! It feels like Spring has hit Northern CA already. 🙂 The beautiful flowers are blossoming, and the weather feels a bit warmer than usual.

I had the chance to work with a unique olive oil company all the way from Corfu, Greece. I received a lovely msg from Spyros on Twitter a while back, and he asked me to test out their olive oil.

Welcome  The Governor Olive Oil 

Click on the titles below to learn more information. 

History Of The Governor Olive Oil

Three generations of Dafnis family members tend the aged ‘Lianolia’ variety olive trees in the family grove. Knowledge passed lovingly from one generation to the other builds deep olive expertise, which takes a lifetime of learning. This represents the Dafnis family guarantee for consistently high quality olive oil. The Dafnis family then decided to create not only a superb and rare olive oil but the first premium olive oil in Corfu, Greece. I have had the opportunity to speak with Spyros Dafnis via email about his passion and hard work for The Governor Olive Oil. You can tell the Dafnis famiy is extremely passionate and work driven to get their olive oil out there in the culinary scene. So far many chefs like myself from around the world have had the opportunity to try out their unique Greek olive oil. 

The family groves are located near Agios Mathios village, on Mount Gamillios, between sea level and 130 meters. Three generations of Dafnis family members lovingly tend the aged Lianolia olive trees, none of which are under 100 years old. Many of our trees have been flourishing for over 500 years on the fertile slopes leading down and into the sea.

We treat each one of our 1500 olive trees like a friend. The secret to our healthy trees is maintaining a balance between the roots, trunk and leaves, and respecting the different needs of the younger and the older trees. Nature -sun, wind and rain- takes care of the rest.

The Dafnis family olive oils are named in honor of the first governor of free Greece and founder of the modern Greek State, Count Capodistrias.

The Governor Products

Currently The Governor Olive Oil offers two kinds of Greek olive oil. The Governor premium unfiltered olive oil which is a very fine extra virgin olive oil from Corfu island, with fresh aroma and taste, rich in texture and healthy antioxidants.

The Governor limited unfiltered extra virgin olive oil a rare extra virgin olive oil with character, from Corfu island. Produced drop by drop with painstaking care, this first batch of limited edition, early-harvest fresh olive juice is full of concentrated goodness.

Have you checked out their beautiful packaging? The first thing that caught my eye was the wooden box, and the bottles are just simply beautiful.

Head on over to their official site for more information about their fine Greek olive oil. Click on the link here. >> The Governor Olive Oil 

Let’s get to the fun cooking!!! We had an over abundance of carrots this past week, so I decided to make a carrot soup. To make this soup really pop, I used the Governor Olive Oil. 🙂

Healthy Carrot Soup- Vegan GF Recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 Cups carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 Tablespoons The Governor Greek Premium Olive Oil
• 1 large white onion
• 1 pinch cumin
• 1 pinch dried basil
• 1 pinch dried mint
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• Black Pepper
• Pink Himalayan Salt

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan heat the olive oil, garlic, onions, and carrots over medium heat. Saute for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the spices and saute for another minute. Let the spices combine with the carrot mixture.
3. Add the vegetable stock to the pan, and cook for 35 minutes, or until the carrots are soft and the liquid has reduced. (Let the mixture cool down a bit.)
4. In a Vitamix, or blender of your choice, add the carrot mixture to the blender.
5. Slowly add in the coconut milk while the blender is running.
6. Garnish soup with fresh chopped parsley.

Kali Orexi

Photos By: Nestor Z Photography & Kouzounas Kitchen