Category Archives: Salads

Traditional Easter Pairings

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Flavor Pairings for a Delicious Easter Meal

This month traditional Easter flavor pairings are top of mind. Spring brings with it fresh green grass, the start of farmers markets and of course Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies!

Here at Primo Oils we’ve put together several spring pairings of our favorite Olive Oils and Vinegars to help you put a unique twist on your Easter dinner. It’s hard to beat traditional Easter dishes like scalloped potatoes, balsamic glazed carrots, baked ham and spring peas. So we’re not going to even try to beat them. We’re going to join them by showing you ways to up your traditional dinner game with new flavor pairings.

Scalloped Potatoes

A standard dish for Easter and one that can be easily overlooked on your table. Let’s kick these potatoes up a notch by substituting Herbs de Provence olive oil for butter in your recipe. This gives an extra savory note to your potatoes.

If you’re looking for a good recipe we like Gimme Some Oven’s Scalloped Potatoes. This is a super traditional scalloped potatoes recipe. It’s great for Easter because you can prepare this dish ahead of time and heat it up in the oven when you’re ready.

Balsamic Glazed Carrots

We love using rainbow carrots that you pick up at the farmers market (or Whole Foods) to give your Easter dinner a colorful addition. Traditional balsamic carrots call for both olive oil and balsamic vinegar and we have just the pairing to jazz up this dish. We love using our Rosemary Olive Oil and Lavender Balsamic Vinegar. The sharp Rosemary flavor with the savory, herbal lavender will give your balsamic carrots a truly memorable twist.

Delish has a great glazed carrots recipe. In fact, they call this recipe the Best Balsamic Glazed Carrots recipe.

Baked Ham

Baked ham is such a deliciously easy main dish for Easter. We love this recipe from The Pioneer Woman. We swap out her use of a can of Dr. Pepper with our incredibly delicious Fig Balsamic Vinegar. Our fig balsamic gives a similar sweet tang as the soda but we think it’s a more distinguished twist to the recipe. And definitely follow her recommendation to glaze the ham several times while cooking. It really makes a difference.

Spring Peas

Spring Peas are light and fresh and the mint in this recipe from Epicurious gives a nice counter to some of the sweetness in the carrots and ham. Another standard Easter dish that makes this meal one of the easiest early prep meals ever. We suggest using our Eureka Lemon Oil for this Easter side.

So those are our recommendations for Spring pairings! These work wonderfully to share as hostess gifts, grown-up Easter Basket ideas or even to give out as wedding favors.

To your health!

Delicious Metabolic Reset Recipes with Primo Vinegars

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13 Mar

Delicious Metabolic Reset Recipes from Primo Vinegars

When Miranda Sommer of Whole Heart Health and Wellness approached Primo Oils about a Metabolic Reset Meet & Greet we were only too happy to offer Primo Oils as a venue. You may not think of Primo Oils as the perfect fit for a Metabolic Reset event but we’re here to tell you that we’ve got a lot more than just olive oils. Primo has just as many Balsamic Vinegar flavors as we do EVOO.

Balsamic Vinegar is a kitchen essential and one that, like olive oil, people overlook or think comes in just “plain”. Our balsamic vinegars come in a wide variety of flavors from the drinkable Aged Natural Fig Balsamic to a salad-ready Neapolitan Herb Balsamic Vinegar. And every flavor in between.

We hope you enjoy these recipes that we shared at the Meet & Greet event.

Primo Vinegar Metabolic Reset Recipes

Salads

Arugula Heirloom Salad

This is a great starter for grilled steak or chicken. We recommend using a good salt like a sea gris.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Wash and spin dry arugula.
  • Cut heirloom tomatoes into large bite-size pieces.
  • Toss Arugula and tomatoes with Traditional 18 yo Balsamic Vinegar.
  • Salt and Petter to taste.

Pickled Beet Salad

Pickled beets are available in the produce aisle of most grocery stores.

Ingredients

  • Red Pickled Roast Beets, 1 Package
  • Golden Pickled Roast Beets, 1 package
  • 1 orange, separated and cut into bite-size pieces
  • Cinnamon Pear Balsamic
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Combine both packages of beets and orange slices.
  • Toss with Cinnamon Pear Balsamic
  • Salt and Petter to taste.

Fruit and Berry Salad

This is a delicious spin on the traditional fruit salad. A great option for Easter or a brunch.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Remove pomegranate seeds. Try this super easy way. Cut up cantaloupe into bite-size pieces.
  • Combine cantaloupe, blueberries, pomegranate seeds, and raspberries.
  • Toss with Pomegranate and Cascadian Raspberry White Balsamic.

Main Dishes

Pulled Chicken-Apple Salad

This is a nice light dish to have on a hot night. You can pick up a rotisserie chicken at the store so there’s no need to heat up your kitchen!

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Prepare your fruit and veggies. Peel apples, and grate on a box grater. Separate cauliflower into small, bite-size florets. Vein and chop up kale and thinly slice the red cabbage.
  • Combine apples, veggies and chicken. Toss to combine.
  • Drizzle with Sicilian Lemon White Balsamic Vinegar and Gravenstein Apple Balsamic. Salt and pepper to taste.

Balsamic Flank Steak

A great steak recipe. We like that this is a pan-seared steak so you don’t have to wait for good BBQ weather.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Mix Neapolitan Herb Balsamic Vinegar, minced garlic and Dijon mustard until combined. Pour marinade into a shallow dish that will hold the steak.
  • Prepare steak by first puncturing with a knife tip about once every square inch on both sides of the steak. Place in the marinade. Leave in the refrigerator overnight turning 2 or 3 times.
  • Flank steak is thicker at one end than the other. Cut the steak into two pieces. Your thinner piece will be done before the thick piece.
  • Heat a no-stick pan on high heat. Cook steak on high 4-5 minutes per side.
  • Monitor internal heat with an instant-read meat thermometer. Steak will be medium rare when it reaches 125 degrees. Flank and skirt steaks are more flavorful when served medium rare.
  • Cover and let rest 5-10 minutes. Slice against the grain and serve.

Looking for more delicious balsamic vinegar recipes? You can check out the recipe link on our website here.

To your health!

Shaved Fennel Salad with Milanese Gremolata

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Shaved Fennel Salad with Milanese Gremolata

Ingredients

  • 2 trimmed, thinly sliced fennel bulbs
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
  • 4 tablespoons Primo Milanese Gremolata Olive Oil
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 1/3 cup finely shaved Pecorino Romano
  • 3 Cups mixed baby greens for presentation – optional

Instructions

Place the shaved fennel in a re-sealable Ziplock bag or bowl large enough to hold it.  Thoroughly whisk together the Primo Gremolata Olive Oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and chopped flat leaf parsley.  Pour over the fennel and toss to coat.  Marinate in the refrigerator for two hours.  In a bowl or large platter, arrange a bed of washed mixed baby greens.  Arrange the fennel over the greens, pouring any remaining dressing over the fennel and greens.  Sprinkle evenly with shaved Pecorino and fresh ground pepper.

 

Serves 4-6

GRILLED ROMAINE SALAD

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GRILLED ROMAINE SALAD

 

Split a head of Romaine lettuce in half (lengthwise) Wash and dry thoroughly.Brush cut side with Primo Organic Garlic olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt & fresh ground black pepper.Place cut side down on hot grill. Grill just until leafy ends begin to wilt.Remove from grill.Brush grilled cut side of lettuce with Primo aged figbalsamic vinegar or experiment with other flavors. Sprinkle with fresh ground or shaved Parmesan cheese. ENJOY!

Mandarin Chicken Salad

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Mandarin Chicken Salad

2 scallions, sliced

6 tbsp PRIMO Piqual or Coratina EVOO

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

2 cups diced (1/2 inch) cooked chicken

1 bunch watercress, tough stems removed

1-11 oz. can mandarin oranges, rinsed well, drained and chilled

2 tbsp PRIMO Tangerine Balsamic

Preheat oven to 325F. Spread out pecans on a small baking sheet. Bake for

10-15 minutes, until lightly toasted. In a salad bowl, combine chicken,

watercress, oranges, scallions and toasted pecans. Combine the oil and balsamic

with pepper and toss to coat.