Olive oil cake

By Tom Harte

Though it was not part of the recently concluded Olympics in South Korea, olive oil wrestling is the national sport of Turkey, where an annual tournament has been held since 1346, making it the oldest continuously running, sanctioned sporting competition in the world.

Following Greco-Roman traditions, contestants slather themselves in olive oil and try to come to grips with one another, a process which, before time limits were instituted, could go on for days.

Now if your interest in olive oil involves giving an opponent the slip, it doesn't make any difference how it tastes, if it's pure, or even whether it's rancid. But if, like me, your interest is culinary rather than athletic, you want the very best oil you can find. That's why I recently headed down to the Hill Country of Texas.

You might find it surprising that I would expect to find high quality olive oil in Texas, the land of barbecue, chili, and pecan pie, but it turns out they're experiencing something of an oil boom in the Lone Star State -- an olive oil boom. As recently as 2002 there were zero acres devoted to olive oil production in Texas. Today there are nearly 2,000.

Olive trees, since ancient times synonymous with civilization, now flourish in the Texas Hill Country, where they are being turned into premium olive oil.TOM HARTE

Why such interest in olive oil? Partly, perhaps, the Hill Country's Mediterranean-looking terrain provides the inspiration, but mostly it's the realization that olive oil on the market today is likely to be substandard. Texans, with their characteristic cowboy can-do confidence, think they can do better.

Most of the world's olive oil comes from Europe, where, after all, as the French historian Gaston Rambert observed, the olive tree, along with the vine, has since ancient times been "synonymous" with civilization. But, sadly, despite its rich history, the olive oil we find on grocers' shelves these days has but a 50-50 chance of even being the real thing, let alone fresh. What's worse, Americans have become so used to adulterated or rancid products that they don't know how olive oil should taste.

Thus, it was a revelation, when at the Bella Vista Ranch in Wimberley, the first stop on my sojourn, I tasted owner Jack Dougherty's fresh pressed extra-virgin olive oil. Defying conventional agronomical wisdom that olive trees wouldn't grow in Texas, Dougherty's pioneering efforts, starting with just five trees and using Roman techniques, have shown otherwise and won a gold medal along the way. I can see why. I've never tasted better olive oil than his.

Happily for consumers, others have gotten into the act too. Not far from Bella Vista, in the town of Dripping Springs, for example, is The Texas Hill Country Olive Company, a beautiful farm, complete with a Tuscan-style tasting and production facility dispensing among other things in addition to award-winning olive oils of their own, olive oil ice cream. The operation is run by father and daughter John and Cara Gambini whose mission is like that of Dougherty's -- to show people how good authentic olive oil can actually be.

Thanks to Dougherty, the Gambinis, and others who have come onto the scene, we all may all sooner or later possess such knowledge and down in Texas the pursuit of liquid gold may rival the quest for black gold.

Tom Harte admires an olive press in use at the Bella Vista Ranch in Wimberly, Texas, where pioneering owner Jack Dougherty is turning out top quality olive oil that rivals anything imported from Europe.TOM HARTE

Texas Olive Oil Cake

Olive oil makes a cake exceptionally moist, but it also imparts flavor, so don't opt for a mild oil. Instead use a strong one, but make sure it's of the highest quality. This recipe is adapted from Maialino Restaurant of New York.

Premium olive oil is the not so secret ingredient in these olive oil brownies topped with olive oil ice cream, one of the many treats served at the bistro at the Texas Hill Country Olive Company in Dripping Springs, Texas.TOM HARTE

• 2 cups flour
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/3 cups Texas olive oil
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup orange liqueur

Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Combine olive oil, milk, eggs, zest, juice and liqueur. Add dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour batter into a deep 9-inch pan which has been greased and the bottom lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until top is golden and cake tests clean. Cool 30 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely before serving.