Olive Oil Salads: Discover Our Summer Recipes

In summer, there's only one obsession in the kitchen: olive oil salads. One-dish meals we just can't do without, because they're practical, creative and refreshingly light. Lightness and flavor blend with ever-changing, original ingredient combinations to give us the energy we need to face the summer heat. Olive oil salads are quick to prepare and easy to bring along for lunch break or a day at the beach, and they win everyone over. They can contain the most varied ingredients: rice, chicken, fish, cheese, vegetables, and plenty of fruit too. There's an option for every taste!

The right oil for every salad

When we make a salad, we can let our imagination run wild with ingredient pairings, but we need to pay close attention to the dressing. Choosing the oil that will accompany our dish is essential, since it shouldn't cover the flavors but enhance them. Here's a short guide to preparing the tastiest olive oil salads ever. To start, it's important to know that delicately flavored foods pair with delicate, lightly fruity oils that won't cover the dish's flavor, while bolder-flavored dishes pair well with medium or intensely fruity oils, which enhance the flavors with their aroma. Oils with a bitter aftertaste can be paired with foods that share the same characteristics, like bitter salads. Peppery oils are excellent paired with tomatoes, olives and onions, to liven up their flavor.

Olio Pace's summer recipes

Now that you know the ABCs of olive oil salads, you're ready to bring our summer recipes to the table.

Chicken salad with organic extra virgin olive oil (4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 400 g chicken breast
• 180 g cherry tomatoes
• 100 g parmesan shavings
• 80 g black olives
• 2-3 fresh basil leaves
• to taste Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Oregano, to taste
• Fine salt, to taste

Chicken salad is one of summer's great classics: a hearty dish that can replace a whole meal. Massage the chicken breast with salt and a mix of spices, then cook it in a non-stick pan or on the grill. Brown it on both sides and, once cooked, cut it into small pieces. Let it cool in a bowl and meanwhile prepare the other ingredients. Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut them into quarters. In a bowl, combine the diced chicken, cheese, cherry tomatoes and black olives. Season with salt, oregano and chopped basil to taste. Finally, drizzle the salad with our organic extra virgin olive oil and toss to combine everything well. In just a few steps, the summer chicken salad is ready to be served.

Poke salad with fruity, mild extra virgin olive oil (4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 400 g sushi rice
• 300 g cold water
• 150 g smoked salmon
• 6 radishes
• 2 carrots
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
• half a cucumber
• 1 mango
• to taste Olio Pace Fruity, Mild Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• salt, to taste

Method The poke bowl is the latest salad trend. Having traveled from Hawaii all the way to Europe, it quickly became a must. Quick to prepare, it requires careful attention to how the vegetables are cut and an eye for aesthetics when assembling the bowls. Rinse the rice under cold running water and drain it in a fine-mesh sieve. In a pot, add it to lightly salted cold water and cook. Let it rest for a few minutes and season it with rice vinegar, mixing it in. Meanwhile, peel the carrots, slice them into rounds and boil them. Wash the cucumber and slice it very thinly, keeping the peel on if you like. Peel and dice the mango and thinly slice the radishes. Also dice the smoked salmon fillet. Now assemble the poke salad in two bowls, placing the rice at the base and arranging the top-layer ingredients harmoniously. Add a sprinkle of sesame seeds and season with a drizzle of fruity, mild EVO oil.

Buy our Fruity, Mild Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pink grapefruit salad with Denocciolato extra virgin olive oil (4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 200 g arugula
• 200 g feta
• 15 cranberries
• 1 pink grapefruit
• to taste Denocciolato Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• salt, to taste

Method A fruit-based salad should be paired with nothing less than a denocciolato oil. Pink grapefruit salad is a light, fresh side dish that comes together in just a few steps: wash and dry the arugula and place it in a large bowl. Peel the grapefruit, cut it into cubes and add it to the arugula. Add the diced feta too, along with the washed and dried cranberries. Season with a drizzle of denocciolato extra virgin olive oil and salt. Now that you know all the secrets of pairing olive oil with ingredients, you can draw inspiration from these three recipes and bring your favorite salad to the table. All you need to worry about is choosing the right oil!

DISCOVER MORE HERE: Denocciolato oil