Italy's Number One Olive Oil Features a Tuscan-Inspired Turkey Feast With Up to One-Quarter Less Fat - Carapelli Olive Oil Promises More Flavor, Less Fat for Traditional Holiday Favorites, the number one brand of extra virgin olive oil in Italy, has transformed traditional holiday dishes with Tuscan-inspired recipes that promise more flavor, less fat. By using three-quarters of a teaspoon of olive oil for every one teaspoon of butter or margarine, chefs at home can reduce the fat in holiday favorites by up to 25 percent.

Tuscan Roast Turkey  - Serving Size: 16

  Ingredients

  -- 16 pound young turkey: remove giblets, rinse, pat dry

  -- Kosher salt

  -- 1 cup Tuscan herb paste

  -- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds: crushed

  -- 2 teaspoons celery salt

  -- 3 fennel stalks with fronds: rough chopped

  -- 3 onions: large dice

  -- 1 stalk celery: small dice

  -- 2 1/4 quarts chicken stock

  -- 3 ounces all-purpose flour

  Directions

1. Remove the giblets from the turkey's cavity, rinse cavity and pat dry, set aside. Season the turkey inside and out with kosher salt.
    
2. Mix Tuscan herb paste with crushed fennel seeds and celery salt.
    
3. Starting at the neck of the bird, slip your hand between the meat and the skin to loosen. Rub half the paste mix under the skin, and rub the remaining paste inside the cavity and over the rest of the turkey.
    
4. Season all over with kosher salt.
    
5. Place the two-thirds of the chopped onion and fennel stalks inside the cavity. Truss the bird.
    
6. Place the turkey in a roasting pan. Roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
    
7. Reduce the temperature to 325 degrees and continue cooking the turkey to an internal temperature of 160 degrees, approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
    
8. Baste the turkey often during cooking with juices from the pan. If the turkey begins to overbrown, cover it loosely with aluminum foil.
    
9. As the turkey roasts, simmer the giblets (neck, heart and gizzard), the other 1/3 of the fennel stalk, onion mix and diced celery in 1 quart of the chicken stock until tender, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
    
10. Remove the turkey from the roasting pan and set aside to rest.
     
11. Degrease the roasting pan, reserving 3 ounces (90 grams) of the fat to make a roux.
     
12. Deglaze the pan with a small amount of chicken stock. Transfer the stock to a saucepot, and add the remaining stock and the broth from the giblets. Bring to a simmer and degrease.
     
13. Make a blond roux with the reserved fat and the flour. Add the roux to the liquid, whisking well to prevent lumps. Simmer 15 minutes. Strain the gravy through a china cap. Adjust seasoning.

Tuscan Herb Paste

  Ingredients

  -- 3/4 cup Carapelli Light In Taste Olive Oil

  -- 1 cup Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil

  -- 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) fresh basil

  -- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) fresh rosemary

  -- 1/2 packed cup fresh Italian parsley

  -- 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) fresh thyme

  -- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) fresh sage

  -- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

  Directions

1. Blend Herbs and crushed red pepper with Carapelli Light In Taste Olive Oil using a blender or food processor.
    
2. Stir in Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

"Admittedly, we all indulge a bit during the holiday season, but what if we could create the same great recipes we love and cut the fat? By substituting olive oil for butter, this can be done easily without sacrificing great taste," explained Maria Hernandez-Procaccini, Brand Manager - Carapelli Olive Oil. "At Carapelli, our focus this holiday season is to help consumers battle the daunting task of cooking a holiday meal with a few tips to skipping the holiday guilt."

Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fat, which helps lower LDL (low-density lipoproteins), the 'bad' cholesterol, without lowering levels of HDL (high-density lipoproteins), the 'good' cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats are also thought to lower the risk for heart disease and stroke, decrease the risk for breast cancer, help to maintain a healthy weight and reduce belly fat.

Carapelli makes an array of olive oil products designed for a variety of cooking and baking needs. Carapelli Extra Virgin olive oil, a great catalyst for slow cooking, is featured in the Tuscan Roast Turkey recipe, Tuscan Herb Paste and many of the savory sides found online at EntertainWithOliveOil.com. Offering a very mild flavor but retaining the quality and goodness associated with olive oil, Carapelli Extra Light In Taste is the perfect substitute for butter or vegetable oil in all your holiday treats. The "light" refers to its mild flavor, not calorie content. Like all pourable oils, it contains 120 calories per tablespoon.

Carapelli olive oil is manufactured in Italy under the strictest quality control standards that exceed those required by law. In 1893, Constantino Carapelli began making and selling olive oil in Montevarchi, Italy and founded a family business that became an Italian tradition. Today, Carapelli's state-of-the-art headquarters are located in Florence, where the brand unites old world craftsmanship with new world standards.

Offering premium quality olive oils for those with discerning tastes, Carapelli's diverse product line features Extra Virgin, Extra Light In Taste, Premium Extra Virgin, Il Numerato, Mild and Organic. Carapelli Extra Virgin is ranked number one in Italy according to Euromonitor International 2009. Carapelli olive oils can be found at most major supermarkets and retail superstores.

Carapelli Olive Oil's new special occasion website offers consumers a convenient one-stop location for a complete holiday feast that will appeal to both those with traditional and adventuresome palates. Visitors to the site can also opt in for a coupon for Carapelli Olive Oil products.

For a Tuscan-inspired holiday feast and information about the lifelong benefits of olive oil, visit www.EntertainWithOliveOil.com