I love popcorn. I love olive oil. I often want a quick snack. Here’s the solution: stovetop popcorn made with extra virgin olive oil—two healthy ingredients that combine beautifully to make an ideal snack. An excellent olive oil transfers its flavor to the popcorn; with some salt, no additional flavoring is necessary to make an addictive all-natural treat.
You will need
- Dry kernels of popping corn (unpopped popcorn)
- Salt
- A Greek extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) that you really like to taste in your food
- A pot at least as high as a saucepan, with a well-fitting lid, two handles, and a fairly heavy bottom; the pot’s diameter should be about the same as your burner. (I use a soup pot.)
- A stove or hot plate
- Oven mitts
Directions
- Turn your stove on to high heat.
- Cover the bottom of your pan with a generous layer of the EVOO, and put it on to heat. The thicker the layer of EVOO, the more flavorful your popcorn will be—but I don’t make the layer so thick the popcorn kernels could float in it.
- Add a single layer of dried popcorn kernels to cover the bottom of your pan.
- Generously sprinkle salt all over the kernels, then cover the pan. Shake occasionally to mix the ingredients and improve the evenness of heating.
- When the popcorn starts popping enthusiastically, put on oven mitts and lift the pot an inch or two (a few centimeters) above the burner. Slowly rotate the pot above the burner, so each of the edges of the pot spends some time above the center of the burner, to be sure the entire bottom of the pot is well and evenly heated—especially if your pot is a bit larger than your burner.
- Holding the lid in place, occasionally give the pot a good shake to help the unpopped kernels fall to the bottom. If popping quiets down as you shake and rotate the pot, replace the pot on the burner until popping resumes, then repeat the lifted rotation and shaking process. If popping does not resume when the pot is on the burner, give another shake and another slightly elevated rotation; if the corn is still quiet, most of the kernels should have popped.
- Add more salt and EVOO to taste, if desired.
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