Cooking With Olive Oil For Those Busy Winter Nights
Did you know it was possible to cook a delicious and healthy winter meal fast, with a bottle of quality extra virgin olive oil at hand as your secret super power?
Winter meals can be a tricky business when trying to find something both delicious and nutritious that won’t take hours of slaving away in the kitchen. Thankfully, with just 15 minutes and a bottle of the best extra virgin olive oil, winter meals can be winter wonders! Extra virgin olive oil is an incredibly versatile ingredient which adds flavor and health benefits for every dish. It’s also surprisingly easy to whip up winter meals like soups, stews, roast vegetables, warm salads and even winter-themed pizzas! All it takes is fifteen minutes and you can have the heartiest winter meal your family will love.
We loved this selection of 15 minute winter meals for weight loss from Eatingwell.com which includes simple but triumphant midweek meals like this Quick Shrimp Puttanesca with extra virgin olive oil:
Quick Shrimp Puttanesca
Ingredients
- 8 ounces refrigerated fresh linguine noodles, preferably whole-wheat
- 1 tablespoon Morocco Gold extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp
- 1 (15 ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
- 1 ¼ cups frozen quartered artichoke hearts, thawed (8 ounces)
- ¼ cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives
- 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook linguine according to package instructions. Drain.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add shrimp in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, until browned on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce. Add artichoke hearts, olives, capers and salt; cook, stirring often, until the shrimp is cooked through and the artichoke hearts are hot, 2 to 3 minutes longer.
- Add the drained noodles to the sauce and stir to combine. Divide among 4 pasta bowls. Serve hot.
Salmon & Creamy Orzo with Spinach & Mushrooms.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt, divided
- ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper plus ¼ teaspoon, divided
- 1 ½ cups sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup whole-wheat orzo
- 4 cups lightly packed baby spinach
- 2 teaspoons Morocco Gold extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ¼ pounds center-cut salmon, cut into 4 portions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Stir broth, cream, garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper together in a large skillet. Add mushrooms and orzo, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in spinach, reduce heat to maintain a lively simmer, cover and cook until the orzo is tender and the sauce has reduced and thickened, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, brush oil on both sides of salmon pieces. Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast until just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve the salmon with the orzo.
- Enjoy your healthy winter meal.
For many more quick and easy Winter recipes to bring a little Mediterranean sunshine in to your winter kitchen, check out the jam packed recipe section of our website here.
And, to get your larder stocked well for the winter holiday season, have a look at all the great incentives available in our online shop to make your Morocco Gold purchase the wisest of investments!
