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Greek Salad - Spartan Village-style

If you wanted a traditional Greek salad in Greece, you'd go to just about any restaurant or taverna and ask for a "horiatiki salata", i.e. "village salad".  In the villages are where the freshest ingredients can be found, but it's the simplicity of the salad that makes it great and tasty. 

Ingredients:

• 2 large tomatoes (the juice from large, ripe tomatoes adds to the dressing, but throw in some cherry tomatoes to step up the presentation)
• 1 medium cucumber (seedless varieties are preferred)
• 1/2 green pepper (or a banana pepper!)
• 1/4 red onion (step it up with chives as an alternative)
• 1/8 cup black olives
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• Sea salt, to taste (probably won't need much if the feta is sufficiently salty)
• 2-3 tbsp Spartan Oil ;-)

Cutting: Don't worry too much about precision--the point is to get chunks small enough to fit two or three items on a fork at once. Cut each tomato into approximately 12-16 pieces. Cut cucumbers into half-moon pieces. Green peppers and onions should be cut into smaller pieces approximately half the size of one of your cucumber chunks.

Combine all ingredients into a large bowl, except for feta, oregano and Spartan Oil. Mix gently to blend. Place chunks of feta on top, then liberally drizzle the entire salad with Spartan Oil. Place oregano in palms and rub oregano over salad. Prior to plating, toss entire salad.

Pro tip: Add some chopped fresh basil for an extra flavor kick. 

BBQ Throwdown Recipe

This... Is... SPARTA! (No, seriously. This is Sparta in a sauce.)

Look around Sparta and you'll see olive trees everywhere. But mixed in, you'll find fig trees, orange trees, and dozens of other varieties of fruit trees.  This is the inspiration for our BBQ Throwdown sauce.

Barbecuing in Sparta is about featuring the fresh meats and vegetables. True to form, food in Sparta is exceptionally simple and sauces are typically olive-oil based. Tomato based sauces are a winter staple, when fresh tomatoes aren't available. Our sauce is a variation of the traditional Ladolemono (oil-lemon) sauce, with orange juice and fig preserves for a sweet and fruity kick. 

Use to marinate and grill chicken, basting every 5 minutes. Also perfect for a grilled pork chop or mild flavored white fish like Branzino. 

• 5 TBSP Spartan Oil 
• 3 TBSP Orange Juice
• 2 TBSP Fig Preserves
• 1.5 TBSP Dijon Mustard
• 1 TBSP Lemon Juice
• 1 TBSP White Vinegar
• 1 TBSP Roasted Garlic
• 1/2 TSP Fresh Rosemary, Finely Chopped
• 1/2 TSP Dried Greek Oregano
• 1/2 TSP (or more) Chipotle powder
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Step 1. Make Roasted Garlic

• Preheat your oven to 225. 
• Begin with one whole heads of garlic.  
• Use a sharp knife to cut the top of the head off, exposing the tops of each clove. 
• Place the garlic in a piece of aluminum foil.
• Drizzle 1 TBSP of Spartan Oil over the garlic cloves. Sprinkle with sea salt.
• Loosely wrap the garlic clove and olive oil and place in the oven.
• Bake for 1.5 - 2 hours.
• Allow to cool for approximately 30 minutes.
• Squeeze the bottom of the head of garlic and the cloves will slide out.
• Place cloves in a bowl and mix with Spartan oil to create a loose paste.

Step 2. Combine Remaining Ingredients

• In a large bowl, add all ingredients except for salt, pepper, and chipotle. 
• Blend all ingredients well. 
• Use an immersion blender to thoroughly blend ingredients.
• Add chipotle powder and blend well. Add more for additional heat.
• Add pepper to taste.
• Add salt.

 Yields approximately 1 cup.

Spartan Oil MEGA! Gallon containers!

We are happy to announce that we now have gallon-size containers available. We've gotten some interest from chefs and several high-volume consumers and, after a ton of research to find quality containers, we can now meet this burgeoning demand. 

Check them out here.

"Don't Waste Money on 'Light' Olive Oil," say Experts

According to this article on EatThis.com, there are several foods that are not worth spending your hard-earned dollars on. The last item on the list? That's right, "light" olive oil. As the article notes, "light" olive oil is hardly olive oil at all. It's typically tasteless refined oils that have no nutritional benefit at all. 

As a matter of fact, even though extra virgin olive oil may have slightly more calories, those calories come in the form of beneficial fats that have been shown to have a positive impact on weight control and hunger regulation. 

In other words, if you are going to buy a cooking oil, don't bother with anything but an extra virgin olive oil. And, of course, be sure you are getting a high-quality EVOO like Spartan Oil.  ;-)

Olive Oil and Improved Cognitive Function

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Internal Medicine) noted that:

"In an older population, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with olive oil or nuts is associated with improved cognitive function."

The study was conducted over a 6-year period and drew these conclusions after putting several hundred study participants through a series of cognitive tests. Those that had a diet which included olive oil showed improved results in those tests.

New Refill Double-Pack

We've noticed an interesting trend in refill purchases. Many folks are choosing to purchase two refills at the same time. Of course, this saves on shipping fees, but now we're making it even more advantageous for those wishing to order two at a time. We've added a new "Double Pack" option that saves you a few more dollars! 

See the highlighted sections in the photo below.

How to Refill your Stoneware Bottle

By now, you've come to understand our little contribution to being environmentally conscious with our refillable bottles and refill packs.  One item that we've received a few questions on is exactly how to refill a bottle that has a pour top.

The refill pack nozzle is exactly the correct size to fit into the bottle top without the pourer. So, there are two ways to refill: with the pourer in the bottle or without it. 

If you have a small size funnel, we recommend using it to fill the bottle. They are pretty inexpensive at a homeware or kitchen store and we now offer an option to purchase one for $4 when purchasing a refill pouch.  The bottle can also be easily filled by removing the pourer.  The top will come out with a little elbow grease. Use a dull butter knife or a spoon to wedge in between the pourer and the bottle. Just pry the pour top until you get a little gap. Then you can use a dry towel and twist the pour top out. A paper towel works well.

If you are planning on washing the inside of the bottle before refilling, be sure it is completely dry before adding any oil--even a little water can degrade the quality of the olive oil. See our post on Caring for a Stoneware Bottle for more information.

That's it. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us and we'll respond right away.