CategoriesSalads

Corn and Blueberry Salad

Corn and Blueberry Salad Recipe

This corn and blueberry salad is perfect for summer potlucks and picnics. We made this with our Baklouti Green Chili Olive Oil which gives it a nice bit of heat throughout, and our Sicilian Lemon Balsamic adds a nice contrasting sweetness. Recipe can be easily doubled.

What you’ll need:

Five ears fresh corn

1 cup Blueberries

4 Mini Seedless Cucumbers

1 Small Shallot

Basil

1 Tablespoon Baklouti Green Chili Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons Sicilian Lemon Balsamic

Salt to taste

Here’s how:

Boil the corn in water for about 10 minutes. When the corn has finished cooking, drain the water and allow the corn to cool off. The corn should still have a slight crunch after it’s cooked. Dice the cucumbers and the shallot, and chop the basil. In a bowl, remove the corn from the cob. Add the cucumbers, shallot, blueberries, and basil. Then add the Baklouti green chili olive oil and Sicilian lemon balsamic. Mix it. Add salt to taste. Enjoy!

CategoriesMain Dish

Chickpea Shakshouka

Chickpea Shakshouka

Shakshouka is a traditional North African and Middle Eastern stew with poached eggs nestled in a mixture of tomatoes, peppers, onion, and spices. We added chickpeas to create a Chickpea Shakshouka and used our Baklouti Olive Green Chili Olive Oil for a spicy kick. You may substitute our Harissa Infused Olive Oil as well. You may also substitute fresh tomatoes for canned tomatoes. It makes a fantastic meal eaten with warm skillet heated pita bread or basmati rice.

What you’ll need:

2 Tablespoons High Phenol Single Varietal Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Baklouti Green Chili Olive Oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

8 oz. sweet peppers, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

15.5 oz. can chickpeas, drained

15 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes or diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste, slightly diluted with water

4 large eggs

1/4 cup chopped free parsley

Here’s how:

Heat the Single Varietal olive oil and Baklouti Green Chili olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet. Add the onions, sweet peppers, garlic, pinch of salt, and pepper. Cook, occasionally stirring until vegetables have softened. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, cumin, and paprika. Cover and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Uncover and cook a bit longer to allow the mixture to reduce and thicken. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

Using a spoon, make four wells in the tomato mixture, make sure the wells don’t touch so that the eggs will not clump together. Then crack each egg into the well and cover the skillet until the egg whites cook through. You may cook the egg yolk to your desire. Uncover and garnish the Chickpea Shakshouka with fresh parsley and drizzle with more Baklouti chili olive oil. Serve with warm pita bread or basmati rice. Additionally, you may top with sliced avocado or crumbled feta cheese.

CategoriesSalads Sauces

Spicy Honey Ginger Dressing

Spicy Honey Ginger Dressing

This dressing has just the right amount of heat and sweetness. It works well as a salad dressing or even as a marinade. We poured this over an asian inspired red cabbage salad with thinly sliced carrots, lime basil, avocado, and sautéed tofu. It’s also delicious over a Ahi tuna poke bowl.

Spicy Honey Ginger Dressing

Ahi tuna poke bowl:

What you’ll need:

3 Tablespoons Honey Ginger Balsamic

1 Tablespoon Baklouti Chili Olive Oil

2 Teaspoons Japanese Toasted Sesame Oil

2 teaspoons white miso paste

1 small clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)

Asian-inspired Salad:

Red cabbage, shredded

Carrots, thinly sliced

Tofu,  marinated and sautéed

Avocado

Lime Based, thinly slice

Here’s how:

Add all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Pour over salad or poke bowl. That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!

CategoriesMain Dish

Enchiladas with Baklouti Chili Sauce

The highlight of these enchiladas is the sauce! Once you make your own sauce, going back to the canned variety should no longer be an option. What makes this sauce great is that the extra virgin olive oils already come with the chili flavors. Baklouti Chili olive oil gives the sauce a nice heat with a fresh chili pepper taste while the chipotle olive oil adds a subtle smokiness. If you like spice, by all means use only Baklouti chili olive oil! Feel free to double the sauce recipe when more is needed. Filling is pretty simple and can be made with or without meat.

Enchiladas

What you’ll need:

Sauce:

1 tablespoon Baklouti chili extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons Chipotle extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons all-purpose, unbleached flour

1 8 oz. can of Muir Glen organic tomato sauce

1 1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon sea salt or to taste

Enchiladas:

1 green pepper, chopped small

1 red pepper, chopped small

1 small red onion, chopped fine

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained

1 lb. ground turkey or beef (optional)

1 teaspoon garlic power

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 – 7 flour tortillas

1 1/2 cup Mexican cheese blend

Here’s how:

Sauce:

In a small sauce pan, heat the Baklouti chili and chipotle olive oils on medium heat. Whisk in the flour, garlic, cumin, paprika, oregano and sea salt. Allow it to slightly bubble and cook for about 2 minutes. Then whisk in the tomato sauce, and then the vegetable stock until the sauce thickens. If needed, add more salt to taste. There you have it. Enchilada sauce!

Enchilada filling:

Heat olive oil in a large pan. Brown ground meat with the onions and peppers while adding the garlic powder and salt. Drain the fat from the cooked meat. Mix in the black beans and cumin.

Enchiladas:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Pour about 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and spread until the bottom is coated. Grab a flour tortilla and place some of the filling (about 1/2 cup) on to the tortilla. Then wrap one side of the tortilla over the other side. Place the seam side down on to the baking dish. Continue with the rest of the tortillas. Pour the enchilada sauce evenly over the wrapped tortillas allowing the edges to peak out. Then sprinkle on the cheese. Bake it in the oven for about 20 minutes until cheese is melted and golden brown. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for about 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!

CategoriesAppetizers

Avocado Mango Salsa

It’s nice that we have warmer weather and that means an abundance of fresh produce. So I will be featuring plenty of recipes from summer’s harvests. I love to make my own salsa and experiment with different veggies and flavors. I find no need to by salsa in a jar unless I’m absolutely feeling lazy or prohibited with time.

I had some avocado that I needed to quickly use before turning brown. Hence the small brown spots around the edges. 🙂 What I also like about combining mango and avocado is that mango prevents avocado from oxidizing, adding lemon juice is not needed.

I’ve made this avocado mango salsa with Baklouti Green Chili extra virgin olive oil. It truly tastes like fresh chopped peppers so there really isn’t any need to chop any and it’s spicy. Baklouti peppers are grown in Tunisia, and the olive oil is made by pressing these spicy peppers together with early harvest Chemlali olives. The sweet mango and creamy avocado adds a nice balance to the heat that permeates throughout the salsa.This salsa can easily be doubled.

What you’ll need:

2 ripe avocados

1 mango

1/2 small red onion

1 cup grape tomatoes

1/2 cup black beans

2 Tbsp cilantro

1 Tbsp So Olive Baklouti Green Chili Olive Oil

1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste

Here’s how:

1. Peel and dice the avocado and mango. Dice the red onion very fine. Quarter the grape tomatoes. Chop the cilantro.

2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

3. Drizzle the Baklouti chili olive oil over the ingredients. Then sprinkle with salt. Gently mix the ingredients together (I use my hands).

4. Taste. You may add more salt if needed.

5. Serve with tortilla chips.

(Originally published May 18th)