With one-in-ten people in New Zealand now enjoying a vegetarian diet, providing a meat-free option is essential for any restaurant, café, or coffee shop.
At Olivado we know how important it is to offer vegetarian options , so we have put together this collection of three delicious meals to make for you or your vegetarian friends.
Asparagus and bean salad
Many people think that protein only comes from meat, but surprisingly, beans are an excellent source of essential proteins. Asparagus is low in calories yet rich in nutrients, and helps with everything from heart disease to type 2 diabetes.
Our simple recipe is both mouth-watering and healthy!
Ingredients
- 1 bunch asparagus
- ¼ cup Olivado Organic Olive Oil
- Zest of a lemon
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 400g can of cannelloni beans
- 40g slithered almonds, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped finely
- Pinch salt and pepper
Method
Start off by blanching the asparagus. To do this, sit the asparagus in a bowl of boiling hot water for a minute, remove and run under cold water for another minute. Once blanched, pat dry and cut into thirds.
Next, heat Olivado’s delicious organic olive oil with some lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring the pan to a simmer, remove from the heat and add the asparagus and beans.
Let the whole thing stand for 10 minutes, and while that’s happening, mix the almonds, parsley and parmesan together, and season with salt and pepper.
To serve, simply place the asparagus and beans into a shallow dish and top with almond and parsley mix. Delicious!
Caprese salad
This quick but tasty dish can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until needed, or whipped up in half an hour for a healthy lunch! Just don’t over-do the bocconcini!
Ingredients
- 2 punnets cherry tomatoes
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and slightly crushed
- 350g dry large pasta spirals
- 250g tub fresh bocconcini
- 1 cup fresh basil
- Olivado Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic glaze
- Salt and pepper
Method
Start off by preheating the oven to 190 degrees fan bake.
In a baking dish, spread out the cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves. Season, drizzle with oil, and roast for 15-20 minutes or until the skins have blistered.
Set those aside and cook the pasta as per packet instructions, drain, and then place into a bowl. Add the roasted tomatoes and garlic to the pasta, then use your hands to tear the bocconcini into the mix, followed by the torn basil.
Pour over a generous drizzle of Olivado organic extra virgin olive oil then toss to combine everything. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm with the balsamic drizzle.
Homemade Gnocchi
Gnocchi is a simple dumpling made from potatoes, flour and egg yolk, and, when done well and with the right topping, can be a very impressive dish. For a topping, we recommend a generous dash of our organic extra virgin olive oil, with a handful each of fresh herbs like basil and Italian parsley, covered with grated parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
- 4 medium sized potatoes
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon Olivado Organic EV Olive Oil
- Pinch of salt
Method
Boil the potatoes with skins still on for about 40 minutes. Once a fork easily slides into them, you’ll know they’re ready, so take them off the heat, drain and then peel them.
Now smash the potatoes well and then crack the egg over it, but be careful not to fully stir in the egg, just mix it in so that the mixture becomes sticky.
Judging the amount of flour can be a little tricky but the less flour you use, the more tender the gnocchi will be. As a rough guide, add 1 cup of the flour in gradually to ensure the dough has a firm (but not dry) consistency. Keep a little flour aside for final gnocchi rolling.
Once the dough is ready, break it apart and roll into cylinders. Cut the cylinders into small pieces, and powder them in the remaining flour, molding the pieces into small cylinder shapes.
Boil a large pot of water and add a pinch of salt along with a teaspoon Olivado Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Add the gnocchi to the water and boil until it starts to float, this should only take a couple of minutes. Drain and drizzle with sauce or a generous dash of Olivado Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
We hope you enjoyed these three vegetarian dishes made with our delicious extra virgin olive oil.
Please feel free to let us know how your meals turned out on our Facebook page, and you can find the rest of our recipes here.