Elevate Your Vegetarian Meals Year Round with Olive Oil

Changing habits, however, is not an easy task. For many of us, it is difficult to find the time to stay fit and healthy during this challenging period. For time-poor Thais, the easiest way to make an okay vegetarian dish into something tasty and nutritious is by utilizing the much healthier olive oil for meals.

Olive oil is high in antioxidants and monosaturated fats, which helps lower blood pressure and the risk of heart disease - it also provides key nutrients for your cells and balances cholesterol levels. According to studies, people who consume olive oil have up to 35% lower risk of developing a heart disease and hypertension. Moreover, olive oil contains anti-inflammatory compounds, and is proven to help stabilize blood sugar levels.

Olive oil is also perfect for everyone's diet, no matter what lifestyle or regime you follow, and can be used in a million different ways to elevate the sweetness and depth of all vegetables for Thais' daily meals: from salad dressings to stir-fried vegetables, deep fried greens to marinades, and for baking your favorite desserts.

Delicious vegetarian food doesn't have to be complicated. Try these recipes with Bertolli Olive Oil and see just how simple vegetarian cooking can be.

TOMATO SOUPServes 4

• 4 Tomatoes
• 3 Red capsicum
• 1 Shallot
• 100ml Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 40ml Sherry vinegar
• 1 Clove of garlic
• 10 Basil leaves
• Salt and pepper

PREPARATION

1. Cut a small cross in the bottom of the tomatoes and submerge them in boiling water for 30 seconds.
2. Let them cool in ice water for 30 seconds and remove the skin.
3. Place all the ingredients except basil leaves in a blender. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
4. Garnish soup with fresh basil leaves.
5. Cut several slices of bread, brush them with a bit of olive oil and grill them. Serve.

DEEP-FRIED MUSHROOM CAKES (TOD MAN HED)Serves 10-12

• 200g oyster mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon seasoning sauce
• ? tablespoon Vegetarian Oyster Sauce (Mushroom Sauce)
• ? teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoon black pepper
• 120g all-purpose flour
• ? cup vegan breadcrumbs
• 4 cups Bertolli Extra Light Olive Oil
• Plum Sauce

PREPARATION

1. Wash the oyster mushrooms, remembering to remove dirty parts, before cutting into small pieces and crushing.
2. Place mushrooms into a mixing bowl. Add soy sauce, seasoning sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, sugar and black pepper before mixing well. Add flour and breadcrumbs, mixing until thoroughly combined.
3. Heat Bertolli Extra Light Olive Oil in a pan on medium heat. Shape the mixture into flat cubes about 1.5 inches in diameter and fry three pieces at a time until golden.
4. Arrange on a plate and serve hot with plum sauce.

KALE PESTO GNOCCHIServes 2By @fitandwellmedgal

• 2 cups kale, chopped
• Frozen gnocchi
• 1 cup fresh basil
• 1/4 cup frozen organic peas, (heated and cooled)
• ? cup walnuts
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3/4 cup Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

1. Process ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor until blended
2. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste before storing in the fridge.
3. For the gnocchi, drizzle Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a pan on medium heat. Add frozen or thawed gnocchi to the pan and cook 6-7 minutes, flipping and moving until crispy.
4. Add pesto directly to the pan and toss the gnocchi until fully coated.
5. Add a few more bunches of kale and peas if desired and serve with fresh parmesan or yeast

SAUTEED KALE WITH TOFU AND SESAMEServes 2

• ? kale
• 100g tofu
• ? chives
• 10g Sesame seeds
• 10ml Soy sauce
• 25ml Bertolli Olive Oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• 5g Salt
• 3g Black pepper
• 1 lime

PREPARATION

1. Cut the kale and cook in pan of water. Chop the garlic and chives, followed by the tofu into cubes.
2. Saute the chives and garlic in a pan before adding the tofu until browned.
3. Take the kale and saute separately before drizzling with the soy sauce and lime juice.
4. Plate individually or combined and decorate with sesame seeds.

BITTER CHOCOLATE AND PISTACHIO CREAM DESSERTServes 4

• 185g Condensed milk
• 110g Brown sugar
• Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 120g 80% Dark chocolate
• 50g Pistachios

PREPARATION

1. Combine the condensed milk and brown sugar in a saucepan and cook on a low heat, stirring until the mixture takes on a toasted color.
2. Add in the dark chocolate and 20ml of Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil and continue to stir until everything is mixed in well.
3. Line a cake tray with baking paper, spread the mixture out within.
4. Refrigerate until the mixture turns hard.
5. Remove from the tray and cut.
6. For the cream: Blend the pistachios thoroughly and add Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil until a paste forms.

About Bertolli

The world's number one olive oil brand, Bertolli was founded in the small Tuscan town of Lucca, Italy. For 150 years, the Bertolli name has been synonymous with Italian and international cooking and eating. At the heart of the Bertolli brand is a commitment to quality, dedication to leveraging the natural goodness of ingredients and a tradition of providing outstanding and flavorful olive oils to Thailand and the world. For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/BertolliTH/.

Source: Hill & Knowlton