This is an easy side-dish that you can quickly prepare. It is healthy and savoury - I prepare it as often as I can to accompany fish, meat or any other main course. Also...if you have vegetables dragging in your fridge, just prepare them like this! All veggies will be fine for this recipe...make it with your favorites or with those leftovers!

For 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 aubergine
2 zucchini
1 fennel
200 grams of cherry tomatoes
2 red peppers
2 carrots
3 TBSP of breadcrumbs
salt
⅓ cup of extra virgin olive oil
basil leaves

Directions:

Rinse and cut in chunks all vegetables, around 1 cm size. 

Lightly grease with extra virgin olive oil an oven dish. Place vegetables in it, add salt and the remaining extra virgin olive oil. Mix well.

Pre-heat oven at 180°.

Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of the vegetables.

Bake for around 45 minutes.

Decorate with basil leaves.  

Suggestions:

You can use these vegetables to dress a dish of pasta. You can add some mozzarella or scamorza cheese on top. It will be more greedy! 

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An easy to prepare salad, healthy and tasty! You can serve it as a side dish (butternut cakes will simply be delicious with that) or you can eat it in a wrap – adding falafel for instance. 

For 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 onions
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 piece (around 1 cm long) of ginger
1 teaspoon garam-masala
400 gr of cherry tomatoes
1 pot of chickpeas (around 350 gr)
300 gr of fresh spinach

1 cup of Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon curcuma powder
1 tablespoon of mint leaves, chopped

Directions:

Peel and chop the onions. Grate thinly ginger. 

In a pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil at medium temperature. Add the onions, stir-fry until it softens and becomes transparent. Add ginger and garam-masala, cherry tomatoes cut in 2 and the chickpeas, strained and washed. Cook and stir for around 5 minutes and then add the spinach. Cook stirring until the spinach leaves become soft. 

In a bowl, mix yogurt, curcuma powder and chopped mint leaves.

Serve lukewarm or cold. 

Suggestions:

This recipe is of Indian origin, so you may serve it with chapati bread.

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Fish is always one of our favourites. Serving fish for dinner brings elegance and refinement to the table - don’t you think so? Fish is very easy to cook - provided that you have a good fish shop that sells quality products and if they clean and prepare fish for you, your job will be really easy.

Here we combine fish with orange and saffron. The dish becomes colourful and the delicate taste of fish meets the unique taste of saffron enhanced by the fragrance of orange.

And of course, extra virgin olive oil will add its touch to the dish.

For 4 servings

Ingredients:

8 small bream fillets, unskinned
1 orange
1 red onion
2 TBSP of extra virgin olive oil
few saffron threads
salt, if needed

Directions:

Peel and finely chop the onion.

Finely peel the orange zest and set aside.

Squeeze the juice of the juice of the orange.

In a large pan, heat at medium temperature the extra virgin olive oil, add the onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.

Add the sea bream fillets, add the orange juice, cover and let cook until fish is ready - you will need 5 minutes.

When ready, add the orange zest to decorate.

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This is a great salad that combines healthy and savoury ingredients. Vegetarian, vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free: it is suitable to everyone and to all tastes. You can have it as a meal or it can accompany another dish - have you thought of our Cheese-filled Phyllo Pie??

For 4 servings

Ingredients:

100 grams of dried chickpeas (or 1 can of chickpeas)
½ teaspoon of baking soda
½ cup of quinoa
100 grams of fresh spinach
300 grams of pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and chopped into chunks
3 TSP of a mix of pistachios and sunflower seeds
5 TBSP of extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon of paprika
Salt
2 TBSP of raisins
Juice of 1 or 2 oranges
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

24 hours in advance, add the chickpeas to a large bowl and cover largely with water – consider that
chickpeas will re-hydrate and will triple the size. Add ½ teaspoon of baking soda. Soak the dried
chickpeas for 24 hours.

Then dry and rinse the chickpeas well.

Add the chickpeas to a large pan and cover with water – again, chickpeas will absorb a lot of water
so be generous! Bring to boil and then let simmer for at least one hour and a half – 2 hours –
chickpeas are ready when they are firm but soft.

Pre-heat oven at 190°. Place in an baking pan the pumpkin and chickpeas. Season with salt, 4 TBSP of extra virgin olive oil, paprika and the juice of 1 orange. Bake for 45 minutes, or until pumpkin is soft. Stir regularly to ensure pumpkin and chickpeas do not burn. Add more orange juice if needed. Pumpkin must remain firm and should not dry.

In the meantime, in a pan, bring to boil 1 cup of water with a pinch of salt. When boiling, add quinoa and cook for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Let it cool in the pan.

Let the pumpkin and chickpeas cool as well.

Quickly roast in a pan pistachios and sunflower seeds.

In a serving tray, place pumpkin, chickpeas, spinach, quinoa, raisins, mix well, add extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, pistachio and sunflower seeds, and mix.

Add a pinch of salt if needed before serving.



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This is not even a recipe. It is so so so easy that reading it takes longer than preparing it. It is just that scallops are SO delicious and we don’t want you to miss to taste them with balsamic vinegar. Just few drops - few yet sufficient to give your palate a memorable experience.

Normally scallops are fried in butter - try with extra virgin olive oil, they will remain delicious - and healthier.

For 4 servings

Ingredients:

12 scallops
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
arugula to decorate

Directions:

In a pan, heat extra virgin olive oil. Add the scallops and fry them for maximum 2 minutes per side - check to ensure that they do not burn or over cook.

Set in a dish, add few drops of balsamic vinegar.

Decorate with arugula.

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The new year has started and although it is time for good resolutions after holiday period’s parties, outside it is so grey that some good comfort food is really necessary.

This soup is rich and hearty - perfect for dinner or lunch...the combination of lentils and tomatoes is intensified by a bit of garlic that adds more taste to the soup.

As many of our recipes, the preparation is extremely simple and quick! You can even simplify your life by using canned lentils! In that case you will be surprised how quick it can be to prepare a delicious meal!

Make sure you prepare enough...everybody will ask for more! Should there incredibly be any left-over you can still keep it in the fridge, heat it and eat it the day after - or you can also freeze it!

For 4 servings

Ingredients:

200 grams of dried lentils - or 2 cans of lentils
16 cherry tomatoes
1 garlic cloves
3 TBSP of extravirgin olive oil
Salt

Directions:

Set lentils in a large bowl and cover with water. Let them soak overnight.

Drain them, set them in a pan, cover well with water and cook for around 20 minutes till tender.

Drain the lentils.

In another pan, heat the 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive and oil with garlic, for a around 1 minute at medium temperature.

Wash and cut in 2 the cherry tomatoes. Add them to the garlic, stirring continuously for a 3 minutes.

Add the lentils and salt, stir for 2 minutes. Add 2 glasses (around 200 ml each) of water, cover and let it cook for 5 minutes after the soup starts to boil.

Serve hot.

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​If you prepared too much pesto with our recipe of Pasta al Pesto, here is how you can re-use pesto for a nice appetizer.

Ingredients:

1 roll of pie-crust pastry

4 TBSP pesto prepared as follows:    50 grams of basil leaves, possibly small and bio, 1 garlic clove, 5-6 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil, 50 grams of parmesan and dry pecorino cheese, 3 TSP pinenuts.

Directions:

Prepare the pesto sauce:

Gently wash and dry the basil leaves. Put them in the bowl of a blender, add the garlic clove, peeled, cheese in small pieces, pine-nuts and the extra virgin olive oil. Blend till you obtain a thick cream.

Pre-heat oven at 180°C (340°F).

Spread the pie-crust pastry.

Spread a thick layer of pesto on it.

Roll. Gently cut in rolls around 1.5 cm thick.

Lay the rolls, cut edge up, in the baking pan covered with cooking foil. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, do not overcook. Let it cool.

Need a bit of comfort when outside is grey and rainy? Try this pumpkin soup. Its texture is silky – although no dairy product is in it – but of course some raw extra virgin olive oil is added to the recipe to enhance the taste of this delicacy.

For 4 servings

Ingredients:

650 grams of pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and chopped into chunks
500 milliliters of vegetable stock
1 onion, finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil

To decorate:

125 grams of mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove
Salt
Parsley, finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Combine in a pan pumpkin, onion and vegetable stock. Bring to boil and let simmer for about 20 minutes, covered, until pumpkin is tender.

Mix with a blender until obtaining a perfectly smooth cream.

Serve hot, decorated with few drops of extra virgin olive oil and mushrooms prepared as follows:

In a pan, heat at medium temperature 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add the sliced mushrooms and salt at your taste, and stir regularly until cooked – you will need few minutes. Add parsley.

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Winter is there and we need comfort and cocooning…a warm and healthy soup will do the deal! You need just few healthy ingredients, fresh vegetables, broth and – needless to say – few drops excellent extra virgin olive oil that will intensify the taste and will add texture to the soup

For 4 servings

Ingredients:

700 grams of zucchini
1 onion
1 garlic clove
500 ml of vegetable broth
Pepper (facultative)
4 slices of aubergine (facultative)
Salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
Basil leaves to decorate

Directions:

Chop finely the onion. Cut zucchinis in slices, 2 to 3 cm thick.

Combine zucchini, onion and garlic in a pan and cover with broth. Cover and bring to boil and medium temperature and let simmer for 20 minutes – or until zucchini are soft and can be easily crushed with a fork.

In the meantime, cut aubergine slices in very small dices (brunoise). Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a pan, add aubergine dices and salt at your taste and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until aubergines become soft and golden.

Remove the zucchini soup from heat and purée with a blender until smooth and creamy.

Taste for salt and if you like ground some pepper.

Serve hot, decorating with a tablespoon of aubergine and basil leaves and few drops of extra virgin olive oil.

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We know that we love olive oil for its taste and for its benefits. Frying vegetables with olive oil has recently been demonstrated to be a healthy cooking method – even healthier than boiling!
So why not thinking of a special, autumn treat? Pumpkin croquettes are savory, melting in your mouth…crispy on the outside! Frying them with olive oil will add a special taste to your preparation…and you will be free to enjoy!

Makes 15 to 20 croquettes, depending on the size

Ingredients:

250 grams pumpkin, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 chili pepper
Salt
1 cup vegetable broth
100 grams flour
50 grams parmesan cheese + additional 75 grams, finely grated
2 eggs
75 almond powder
Extra virgin olive oil to fry

Directions:

In a pan, cook at mild temperature pumpkin, onion, chili pepper, salt and broth, until broth is totally absorbed and you obtain a dense puree.

Let cool.

Mix the pumpkin mixture with flour, 50 grams of parmesan cheese and mix well.

You will obtain a soft and sticky mixture.

Beat 2 eggs.

Mix almond powder and 75 grams parmesan cheese.

With the help of a spoon, take a small quantity of the mixture (like a walnut) and roll it first in the beaten eggs and then in the mix of almond powder and parmesan cheese.

Pour extra virgin olive oil into a deep pot, fill it half full. Remember that the pot walls should rise enough to avoid oil spillovers. Heat the oil – check that it has reached the boiling temperature by putting a small piece of mixture in the oil: small bubbles should appear. When you see the bubbles, put few croquettes at the time. Turn once or twice until they get golden brown.

Serve immediately.

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