Seasonal Salad Pairings Bringing Olive Oil Magic To Your Table
At Morocco Gold, we believe there can never be enough new ways to incorporate your extra virgin olive oil into delicious and health boosting salad combinations. We have kept our eye on some new recipes to share with you and get you experimenting more.
Let’s kick off with this Quinoa Salad With Chicken from Olive Magazine – tasty and satisfying at the same time.
Quinoa Salad With Chicken
Serves
2
Ingredients
- 75g quinoa
- 2 small chicken breasts
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 red onion chopped
- ½ cucumber chopped
- 2 plum tomatoes finely chopped
- A handful of leaves mint
- Shredded, plus a few leaves to serve
- 1 tbsp Morocco Gold extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp sumac
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa in a pan of lightly salted boiling water following pack instructions, then drain really well.
- Put the chicken breasts between two pieces of baking paper and use a rolling pin to gently tap out until less than 1cm thick. Drizzle over the oil, season well and dust with the cumin and coriander, turning to coat.
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan until medium-hot then cook the chicken breasts for 5-6 minutes on each side or until golden, charred and cooked through. Move onto a plate to rest for 2-3 minutes, then slice.
- Mix the onion, cucumber, tomatoes and mint with the olive oil, 1 tsp of sumac, the lemon juice and some seasoning, and mix really well, then fold in the sliced chicken, any juices and the cooked quinoa.
- Pile onto plates and top with the remaining sumac and more mint leaves, if you like.
Potato and Green Garlic Salad
Serves
6
Moving on to something a bit heavier on the carbs, this Potato and Green Garlic Salad is a fun twist on the classic and can be served warm or chilled.
Ingredients
- Small red potatoes - Baby red potatoes, halved or diced.
- Garlic - 3-4 whole cloves
- Green garlic - Only available in early spring. If you can't find it, substitute chives instead
- Green onions - Finely sliced
- Parsley - Finely chopped
- Morocco Gold extra-virgin olive oil
- White wine vinegar
- Honey
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to boil on the stove.
- Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks.
- Boil the potatoes with 3-4 garlic cloves for 15 minutes or so until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.
- Drain the potatoes and remove the garlic cloves. Let the potatoes cool a bit and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
- Mix together the green garlic, green onions, parsley, olive oil, white wine vinegar, and honey.
- Add the dressing to the hot potatoes and mix well.
- Chill before serving if desired.
Blueberry And Goats Cheese Salad
Serves
4
As soon as we saw this one from Slimming Violet, we had to give it a try. And it tastes just as good as it looks!
Ingredients
- For the salad:
- 6 cups mixed greens (such as spring mix or baby spinach)
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
- ¼ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
- ¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup dried cranberries (optional)
- For the Honey Balsamic Dressing:
- ¼ cup Morocco Gold extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper until smooth. Set aside.
- Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, add the mixed greens, fresh blueberries, goat cheese, walnuts, and red onion. Toss gently to combine.
- Dress the salad: Drizzle the honey balsamic dressing over the salad and toss lightly to coat.
- Serve: Sprinkle with dried cranberries (if using) and serve immediately.
