Extra-Virgin Olive Oil is the natural and traditional cooking oil of Greece and of the Mediterranean. Its benefits are extolled throughout the region. Many healthy-giving, nutrive and medicinal qualities are attributed to it in its raw state. In cooking, it can reach high temperatures without suffering disintegration or deterioration: food becomes crisp and golden on the outside while remaining tender and juicy on the inside.
Natural Selected Olives are the most commonly served and simple appetize, often accompanied by nuts, pieces of cheese, tomatoes and charcuterie. They are also used widely in cooking in stews, sauces, tarts, salads and breads.
Our products also include Green & Kalamata Olive Spreads (Paté), Red & White Aromatic Winegars, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Tomato & Pepper Sauce, Sun Dried Tomato Mix and Roasted Sweet Pepper Spread. Use them alone or in combination to bring the flavour and perfume of the Mediterranean cooking to your plate. Here are a few tips and ideas, and some of Greece’s favourite recipes!
Vinaigrette. Make your own vinaigrette by mixing extra-virgin olive oil with red wine vinegar (the ratio should be at least 4 tbsp of olive oil to 1 of vinegar, to allow for the taste of olive oil to be properly savoured. Chopped onions, crushed garlic cloves and chopped fresh herbs, or even a few mashed anchovies can be added.
Green Sauce. Blend equal portions of basil, parsley and mint with enough extra-virgin olive oil to make a fluid paste. Add salt and pepper and a few crushed garlic gloves. Keep in a jar and serve with pasta, adding grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese.
Scented oil and vinegar. Enhace your extra-virgin olive oil and red or white wine vinegar by infusing springs of herbs into the bottle. Tarragon, thyme, basil, fennel, rosemary, oregano, dill, sage, can all be used. For a garlic flavour add unpeeled whole garlic cloves, for a peppery taste add chillies, and for an exotic touch, 2-3 tbsp of orange blossom or rosemary water.
Appetizers or Mezé. Use Olive Spreads, Tomato & Pepper Sauce, Tomato Mix and Pepper Spread on fresh toasted bread, on crackers and pita bread or in small sandwiches alone, in combination or with cheese and bacon or ham, and topped with a parsley or basil leaf to turn a “little dish” into a special one.
Tzatziki (Cucumber and Yogurt Salad)
• 450 ml yogurt, preferably strained
• 1 large cucumber, finely chopped and drained
• Salt and white pepper
• 1 – 4 garlic gloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Beat the yogurt and mix in the rest of the ingredients. Garnish with a few black olives.
Horiatiki Salata (Green Country Salad)
• 3 firm ripe tomatoes, cut in wedges
• 1 cucumber, piled and sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced in rings
• 1 onion, sliced in rings
• Salt and pepper
• Extra-virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar (vinaigrette)
Garnish:
• 150g feta cheese cubed
• 12 or more Black olives (or Mixed olives for a change)
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
Place the salad ingredients in a bowl, add the vinaigrette and toss well. Arrange the feta cheese, olives and oregano on top, then serve nearly cool.
Onion Tart with Olive Spread
Make a simple bread dough or use a pizza base. For the filling use:
• 1 kg onions, thinly sliced
• 4 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp of mixed herbs such as oregano, basil, thyme
• Chopped anchony fillets
• Black olives sliced in halves
In a covered pan, cook the onions in the olive oil on a low flame, stirring occasionally until they become very soft. Add the salt and pepper and the herbs. Put the bread dough or pizza base in a pie pan and brush it with plenty of olive paste. Spread the onion mixture and make a lattice pattern of anchony fillets on top, putting half an olive in the middle of each square. Bake until the bread base is cooked. Serve hot.
Horiatiko Spaghetti
• 500g spaghetti, cooked al dente
• 1 broccoli, cut in piecies, boiled
• 3 – 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 10 anchovy fillets, cut in pieces
• 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 12 sliced Kalamata olives
• 2 tbsp of capers, desalted
In a frying pan, fry the garlic gently in the olive oil until it just begins to colour. Add the anchovies, the olives and capers and fry stirring well. Empty all the contents of the frying pan onto the drained pasta, add the broccoli and mix well using two forks, then serve.
Soutzoukakia me elies (Meatballs with olives)
• 1/2 kg minced beef meat
• 2 slices of white bread crust removed, soaked in 2 cups of strong red wine, then drained
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp of cumin
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil
• 12 green pitted olives
Knead in all the ingredients with your hands. Take portions of the meat mixture and make ping-pong or egg sized balls. Fry them in extra-virgin olive oil, on a moderate flame, turning around several times. Put the cooked meatballs on a dish and keep warm. Make a simple tomato sauce with fresh or tinned tomatoes, salt and pepper, a pinch of sugar and a little red wine, add the meatballs and the olives and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with rice.
Marinated Feta Cheese
Put feta or any other firm but not dry goat cheese in a wide-necked jar together with black peppercorn, garlic cloves, chily peppers, a couple of bay leaves and spring of herbs such as thyme and rosemary, and cover with extra-virgin olive oil. Ready to eat after a few days.
Lamb casserole with Black olives
• 1 kg lamp from the leg, cut in portions
• 1 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup of white wine
• Fresh or tinned tomatoes, chopped
• 12 or more Black pitted olives
Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the garlic and onion and fry until soft. Add the meat pieces and fry gently turning the pieces a few times until golden. Pour in the white wine and lower heat. Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer until the meat is cooked. Just before removing from the stove, add the Black pitted olives and enjoy the meal.
If you liked them, download and print the 7 recipes leaflet!