I was selected by Fitfluential, LLC to review Pylian Estates Olive Oil. I received a bottle of their Pristine Extra Virgin Olive Oil and no other compensation. The recipe and all opinions are entirely my own.
Doesn’t that salad look good? Sorry, I must revel in a good food photo when one comes along. It was gone far too quickly (blaming myself for that) but I’ll actually be making it again this weekend because I really couldn’t get enough.
Oddly enough, I haven’t been using good olive oil much lately and I forgot how delicious a nice, simple, homemade salad dressing can be. When I received my bottle of Pylian Estates Pristine Extra Virgin Olive Oil , it might as well have been Hanukkah already, or maybe Santa came early for me, or something, because everything about this olive oil – from the bottling, the thoughtful “drizzle” top, to the incredible flavor had me drizzling (okay, generously drizzling) it on all my food.
Pylian Estates is a small family maker that controls the oil all the way from their trees in Greece to their bottles. They even note the exact location of their trees right on the bottle – Pylias, Greece, on the southwestern tip of the Peloponnesian Peninsula in Greece’s premier olive growing region.
All of their oil is labeled with the exact harvest and press date to ensure freshness. It is also harvested and pressed within 24 hours!
It is first cold pressed without any heat or chemicals to preserve all the natural polyphenols and anti-oxidants. That means maximum health benefits in addition to fabulous flavor!
High Quality olive oils should always be below .8% acidity and Pylian Estates is clearly stated on the bottle as .3%. They also bottle in dark glass to protect from light and heat, and the products should always be stored away from direct heat as well.
Possibly my favorite feature (because I’m lazy, clumsy, or both!) is that each bottle comes with its own re-sealable cork to prevent oxidation (rancidity.) This is a super convenient way to preserve your oil for the best taste and quality over time.
And now for the recipe! Obviously, you can use any extra virgin olive oil you want for this, but, I am highly recommending you try out Pylian Estates for a real treat!
Butternut Squash Apple Walnut Salad With Sweet Citrus Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 small butternut squash peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1 tbsp coconut oil or other fat for roasting
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large pink lady apple cored and cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup shelled walnuts chopped
- 3-4 cups baby spinach chopped (if you want!)
- 1/4 cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp fresh squeezed lime juice
- 2 tsp orange juice
- **Optional 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup for extra sweetness
Instructions
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First, it's time to roast that butternut! I always roast my butternut with coconut oil, but choose whatever fat you like that is safe for high heat.
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Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Melt your fat and toss it with the butternut squash cubes. Add the 1/2 tsp salt and toss again. Arrange cubes in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet (for maximum sweetness and crispness, do the parchment!) Roast in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, flipping/stirring once in the middle of cook time, or until browned, soft inside and crisp outside.
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Set your butternut aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the salad. Combine your baby spinach, chopped apple, and walnuts in a med-large salad bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon, lime and orange juice, and maple syrup if you are adding that. (The salad maple syrup will really sweeten up the dressing, so only add this if you want a pretty sweet salad!)
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Now add the cooled butternut squash to the salad bowl. Just before serving, whisk up the dressing again, drizzle over the salad a little at a time, and toss. Serve alone or as a delicious side dish!
Do you enjoy making your own salad dressings or do you stick to bottled?
What is important to you when choosing a brand of extra virgin olive oil you buy?
Am I the only one who can’t get enough roasted butternut squash?
Happy Friday, people!!
well you know i want all this! and maybe add some sausage! haha. finding a good quality olive oil is actually hard these days, so thanks for sharing this!
Agree with the sausage! This looks amazing Michelle.
Thank you! Butternut, apples and sausage come up a lot in my recipes, it seems 🙂
I actually ate a pork chop on the side with this, but didn’t show it in the picture since it didn’t mesh with the whole theme 🙂
Any salad with fresh apples in it…is the best…am I right? (YES!)
I have this beautiful bottle of some herb infused olive oil in the pantry that I won over the summer….but I haven’t used it because I feel like it’s to beautiful TO use! Hahaha! I have a problem 😛
My go-to dressing for just about everything is plain balsamic vinegar + nooch + tahini + cumin…..it is SOOOOOOOOOO good!
Yes! And pink lady apples I find so flavorful. I don’t use cumin often enough, I should change that!
This sounds really good! (Well, not to eat today since my stomach isn’t handling much besides soup and crackers) I love making dressings with olive oil. I can’t get enough roasted butternut squash either! I’ll need to try roasting it on parchment paper next time!
Hope you’re on the mend now! Definitely try roasting on parchment paper, it helps the texture and flavor I think 🙂
This looks delicious! I love making my own salad dressings with a mixture of things like mustard, olive oil, and citrus (OJ, lemon or lime). But I do love when I get flavored olive oil and vinegar…makes it so easy!
I love a really simple olive oil and lemon sometimes. Thanks!
Now that is some fancy olive oil! I’m not the biggest oil fan, as you know, but there are some oils that just sing!
I know – almost too fancy for me I think!
I buy that olive oil It is EXCELLENT quality. I visited their olive orchards while driving through their part of magnificent Greece. Truthfully, I bring home olive oil every year when I am in Italy or Greece or one of the other Mediterraine countries and they are all wonderful because their vineyards are a labor of love and family owned. Their is such pride taken from start to finish. Their food quality is taken so seriously one rarely is ever served a bad meal. We were at our usually Thursday night Turkish restaurant last night where I eat my weekly braised lamb shank in the lightest lemon broth you have ever tasted with grilled tomatoes and roasted carrots potatoes. Heaven on a plate. The olive oil they serve is sooooooo rich and green it is beyond explanation. Have to see it. When we were in Turkey we found they also took their olive oil very seriously. European countries don’t fool around with the quality of what they eat. They love good food eaten with family and friends. Doesn’t get better then that. Michele, nice salad. Does the raw apples bother you. I stay away from apples because they are a high FODMAP, but they are so tasty and healthy. They add a lot of flavor. Do tell???? Want to make it this weekend. Have a great one!
Very cool! I had never heard of it before but was really happy to try it out. I decided to put apples in this because I have them so rarely lately. When I’m running a lot I stay away from them but have them occasionally because I just like them! If the skin bothers your stomach you can peel them. Surprisingly I didn’t notice any problems after eating this salad, I’m not complaining, but I still won’t have raw apples regularly because they are iffy for me.
This recipe looks delicious! I’ve never had roasted butternut squash!
Oh you must try it! And thanks 🙂
You’re definitely not the only one who can’t get enough squash — it’s the love of my life. I seriously have to watch myself when I eat it because I could easily go through an entire one in one sitting and end up with a huge stomach ache. So good. And I always stick to homemade dressings. They’re super simple to make, and I love being able to control what goes in them.
Once you start making homemade dressings and realize how easy it is, it’s hard to go back! I am like that with roasted sweet potatoes too – love them!
yummmmm! i’m all over this one, i love everything about this salad. and hello, your pic looks like a cover shot for Bon Appetit!!! 🙂
i am obsessed with good quality oils, and that bottle looks gorgeous. i will certainly check this out – i have tried to compare cheap oils to good ones, and it really does make a difference to buy good quality oil. as frustrating as it may be (at least for me, someone that loves to save $), the cheaper ones are just not to be trusted. i feel good about Trader Joe’s for my olive oils, they seem to have some nice selections and at reasonable prices. if i am in the ethnic markets, then i will buy some good ones and they are very reasonable. if i can share any tips for buying good olive oils at lower prices, i’d say find a mediterranean grocery store. at least that works where i live 😀
oh, and yes to all the squash!!! i love the squash and walnut combo, those two things are such a delicious pairing 🙂
happy friday, Michele!!!
Lol and thanks!! I’m like you in that I always try to save $, but agree that you can’t go with sub-par oils! Which I guess is why I haven’t been buying them, and also why I jumped at the opportunity to try this one! Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend!
That is one good looking salad! And a good olive oil really does make a difference. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it!
Thank you! And yes it does, I was so happy to be able to try this one 🙂
Michele- that salad looks incredible! I love a good, quality oo. It has so much more flavor! When I actually buy a “good” one I will use it on EVERYTHING. Fantastic recipe, thanks for sharing!
Thanks! I know, it’s rare that I have a good one but it’s hard not to use it for everything when I do 🙂
I always make my own salad dressings. I usually just stick with a high quality olive oil and a vinegar for my salads. This creation you came up with looks awesome!
Thanks! And yes, simple dressings with good oil are great 🙂
A wonderful piece of writing about Pylian Estates Olive Oil! I really want to try it on Michele Rosen’s Butternut Squash Apple Walnut salad.
This butternut Squash makes perfect sense