With summer comes the time to take better care of ourselves and eat healthier and lighter, so oil becomes a very important part of our diet. Whether to dress a salad, in a gazpacho or as the main ingredient in a dish, it is important to choose a good extra virgin olive oil to complete our recipes.
We have found five healthy, fresh and easy-to-prepare recipes for the summer. All of them include an olive oil specially chosen for each dish by Pep Ribas, our extra virgin olive oil taster.
1. Living salad
We start with the living salad that Lolét suggests on her blog HolaVegan. This simple salad is the perfect choice for a long and active summer day, not only because of how easy it is to prepare, but also because of the energy value it provides.
Pep suggests Finca La Torre Selección organic Hojiblanca oil to dress this salad. Its progressive spiciness with hints of almond will pair wonderfully with this fresh and natural dish.
2. Mussels in vegetable vinaigrette
There are few moments that beat a table full of friends under the midday summer sun. Ernest Subiarana in Cocina sana con ernest subirana offers us some simple, healthy and delicious mussels in vinaigrette, perfect to accompany those summer meals where midday meets afternoon.
Our taster recommends Castillo de Canena oil smoked with oak smoke to prepare the vinaigrette. This Arbequina oil infused with cold oak smoke, following an artisanal production system, will complete this dish with spectacular nuances.
3. Cold cucumber and avocado cream
One of the star dishes of summer is cold soups and creams. Both for their lightness and for the ease of their preparation, gazpachos and creams are the best friends of the summer refrigerator. We wanted to get out of the routine a little and try the cold cucumber and avocado cream that Laura presents on her blog lacazuelavegana.
Abbae de Quieles olive oil works perfectly with this dish. With this Arbequina olive oil, which has a fruity and intense flavour, with hints of apple, almond and banana, we achieve a unique flavour that perfectly complements the ingredients of the cream.
4. Pink tomato, cucumber, prawn and smoked cod salad
Salads are a fundamental pillar of our summer diet, as they can be prepared in very different ways and with combinations of ingredients to suit all tastes. On the blog Recetas de cocina de sergio we have discovered a fresh and complete tomato, cucumber and cod salad that can work as both a starter and a main course.
Pep recommends Castillo de Canena First Day of Harvest Picual to dress the salad. Nothing like a Picual from the first day of harvest, smooth, but with a lot of body, character and a long aftertaste, to enhance the flavours of the ingredients and take the dish to the next level.
5. Extra virgin olive oil flan.
We finish with a different and fresh solution to the summer heat. Ana María's olive oil flan (Cocinandoentreolivos) is a perfect dessert to surprise and amaze with the mixture of the intense flavor of the oil with the sweetness of this dessert.
We have decided to prepare the flan with the oil Imagine Royal Emerald Green. According to Pep, this high-intensity fruity oil, with green notes of apple, grass and tomato, but with a sweet entrance, works perfectly with dessert and makes it an unforgettable experience.
