Summer recipes with olive oil: 5 sublime, fresh dishes

It is three in the afternoon on a July day, the blinds are half drawn and outside not even a cicada can be heard. In the fridge a bowl of salmorejo is waiting, and on the table a bottle of green olive oil that will crown it at the very last second. The perfect summer recipes are like that: fresh, simple, made ahead and built on the season’s fruit and vegetables. And in Mediterranean cooking they all share one ingredient: a good extra virgin olive oil. Here are five summer classics, from chilled soup to dessert, with the oil that suits each one best.

The keys to summer recipes with olive oil

When the heat is on, the last thing you want is to switch on the oven and spend hours by the stove. The best summer recipes tick a few boxes:

• They are fresh. Cold soups, salads and dishes served at room temperature or straight from the fridge.
• They are quick. Ready in a few minutes and with few utensils.
• They can be made ahead. Many improve after a few hours in the fridge, leaving you free to enjoy the day.
• They make the most of the season. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons and stone fruit are at their best.
• They use good oil. Extra virgin olive oil is the ingredient that brings all the flavours together and gives cold soups their creaminess.

These five olive oil recipes are classics of Andalusian and Spanish cooking that never fail in summer. All of them can be prepared in advance and adapted to your taste, which is exactly what makes them such reliable summer recipes with olive oil.

1. Córdoba-style salmorejo

We start in Córdoba, where salmorejo is almost a religion. It is a cold cream of tomato, bread, garlic and oil, thicker than gazpacho, served topped with chopped hard-boiled egg and ham. One of the simplest and most rewarding summer recipes.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 1 kg ripe tomatoes, ideally plum tomatoes
• 200 g day-old bread, with plenty of crumb
• 1 small garlic clove
• 100 to 150 ml extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste
• To serve: 2 hard-boiled eggs and a few slices of Iberian ham

Method

1. Wash the tomatoes, chop them and blend them well. Pass them through a sieve to remove the skins and seeds.
2. Add the torn bread crumb to the tomato and leave it to soak for a few minutes.
3. Add the garlic and salt and blend until smooth.
4. With the blender running, pour in the oil in a thin stream so that it emulsifies and the soup becomes thick and glossy.
5. Season to taste and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
6. Serve with chopped hard-boiled egg and ham and a drizzle of raw oil on top.

Recommended oil: a Picual from Jaén, with green fruitiness and notes of tomato plant, which brings out the flavour of the tomato. For example, Casa del Agua Picual.

2. Málaga-style ajoblanco

Before the tomato arrived from the Americas, Andalusians were already eating cold soup: ajoblanco, made with almonds, bread, garlic and oil, typical of Málaga and one of the oldest in the peninsula. It is served ice-cold, traditionally with grapes or cubes of melon.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 200 g raw blanched almonds
• 100 g day-old bread crumb
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves
• 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 750 ml to 1 litre very cold water
• Salt
• Grapes or melon to serve

Method

1. Soak the bread crumb in a little water.
2. Blend the almonds with the garlic, salt and a little water to a fine paste.
3. Add the squeezed-out bread and keep blending.
4. Add the oil little by little, as for mayonnaise, so that it emulsifies.
5. Add the vinegar and the rest of the cold water until you reach the texture you like. For a finer texture, strain it.
6. Chill in the fridge and serve with grapes or diced melon.

Recommended oil: a mild, almondy oil, such as a Hojiblanca or an Arbequina. For an original touch, try the Castillo de Canena Arbequina with marine plankton, which adds notes of the sea.

3. Pipirrana

In Jaén, when the heat gives no respite, people chop the vegetable garden: tomato, pepper, onion, all very finely diced and bathed in oil. This is pipirrana, the summer salad par excellence, and every household has its version: with tuna, with egg, with cucumber or without.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 4 ripe but firm tomatoes
• 1 green Italian pepper
• 1 spring onion or half a sweet onion
• 1 cucumber (optional)
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 tin of tuna in olive oil
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• Salt

Method

1. Chop all the vegetables into very small cubes of the same size.
2. Chop the hard-boiled eggs and flake the tuna.
3. Mix everything in a large bowl.
4. Dress with the oil, vinegar and salt, and mix well.
5. Leave to rest in the fridge for at least half an hour so the flavours come together.

In the Jaén version, the egg yolk is mashed with garlic and oil to make a creamy dressing that is mixed with the vegetables. Try it that way: it is spectacular.

Recommended oil: an intense Picual, which stands up to the vinegar and lifts the vegetables. For example, Oro Bailén Picual. If you want to know more about this oil, read our guide to Jaén olive oil.

4. Spanish potato omelette

No day at the beach or in the countryside is complete without it. Spanish potato omelette is eaten warm or at room temperature, gets better the next day, and frying the potatoes in extra virgin olive oil makes all the difference.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 1 kg potatoes
• 6 eggs
• 1 onion (optional, to taste)
• Extra virgin olive oil for frying
• Salt

Method

1. Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly. Chop the onion if you are using it.
2. Put plenty of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the potatoes and onion. They should cook gently without browning too much, about 20 minutes.
3. Drain them well and keep the oil, which you can strain and reuse.
4. Beat the eggs with salt, add the potatoes and leave to rest for a few minutes.
5. Heat a frying pan with a tablespoon of oil, pour in the mixture and cook over a medium heat until set underneath.
6. Turn it over with the help of a plate and finish cooking to your liking.

Recommended oil: a stable, balanced oil, such as a Picual or a Hojiblanca in a large format. Tins and large bottles of extra virgin are ideal for frying at a good price.

A detail that makes all the difference: leave the potato and egg mixture to rest for about ten minutes before cooking it. The potatoes absorb some of the egg and the omelette turns out juicier. And if you like it runny, cook it over a medium-high heat for a very short time on each side. Like the other summer recipes with olive oil on this list, the tortilla has a thousand versions: with peppers, with courgette or with chorizo.

5. Olive oil ice cream

And to finish, a surprise: yes, you can make ice cream with extra virgin olive oil, and the result is creamy, smooth and with a fruity finish reminiscent of almond and apple. The perfect dessert to round off a summer meal with a wink.

Ingredients for 6 people

• 3 egg yolks
• 50 g sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 200 ml milk
• 300 ml whipping cream
• 100 ml mild extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Whisk the yolks with the sugar and honey until pale.
2. Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan until they are just about to boil.
3. Slowly pour the hot milk over the yolks, stirring all the time.
4. Return the mixture to the pan over a low heat and stir until it thickens slightly, without letting it boil.
5. Take it off the heat and pour in the oil in a thin stream, whisking so that it emulsifies.
6. Leave to cool, transfer to a container and freeze. Stir vigorously every hour for the first four hours to prevent ice crystals. If you have an ice cream maker, use it.

Recommended oil: a sweet, delicate Arbequina that does not overpower the ice cream. For example, the Rocarell Arbequina by Set D’Oli. Finish each scoop with a few drops of oil and some sea salt flakes. Of all the summer recipes with olive oil here, this is the one that surprises guests most.

Which oil to use in each recipe

Each of these summer recipes with olive oil calls for a different kind of oil, and choosing well is one of the simplest ways to improve your olive oil recipes. This table will help you choose:

If you want to get to know each variety in depth, see our guide to olive oil varieties. And to have them all to hand, variety packs are a very practical option for cooking all these olive oil recipes with the right oil each time.

Summer recipes with olive oil and the Mediterranean diet

All these summer recipes have their roots in the Mediterranean diet, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It is not just a list of foods but a way of cooking and sharing the table based on seasonal, local and minimally processed produce.

In summer, that cooking becomes especially fresh: raw vegetables, cold soups, pulse salads, griddled fish and fruit for dessert. And at the centre of it all is extra virgin olive oil, used both raw and for cooking.

The olive oil recipes in this guide show that eating well in summer does not have to be complicated. With good tomatoes, day-old bread, a few almonds or some potatoes, and a good oil, you have complete dishes full of flavour. That simplicity is the real secret of summer recipes with olive oil.

Make the most of seasonal produce

Summer is the best time for vegetables and fruit. Some ingredients that go wonderfully with extra virgin olive oil in your summer recipes with olive oil:

• Tomatoes. At their best between June and September. The base of salmorejo, gazpacho and pipirrana.
• Peppers and cucumbers. Fresh and crunchy, ideal for salads and cold soups.
• Courgettes and aubergines. Griddled, with a good drizzle of raw oil at the end.
• Melon, watermelon and figs. In sweet and savoury salads or alongside ajoblanco.
• Peaches and apricots. With fresh cheese, oil and a few basil leaves.

How to keep your summer dishes

One of the advantages of these summer recipes with olive oil is that they can be made ahead. To keep them in perfect condition:

• Store cold soups in tightly closed glass containers in the fridge and eat them within one or two days.
• Make the pipirrana without salt or vinegar if you are keeping it for several hours, and dress it just before serving so the vegetables do not release water.
• Let the tortilla cool before covering it and keep it in the fridge if you are not eating it the same day.
• Take the ice cream out of the freezer a few minutes before serving so that it is creamy.
• Always add the final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil when you serve: that way it keeps all its aroma.

A complete summer menu

With these five recipes you have a complete menu for a long lunch with friends or family, almost all of it made the day before so you can enjoy the after-lunch chat too:

• Appetiser: toast with extra virgin olive oil and a selection of olives.
• Starter: salmorejo or ajoblanco, served ice-cold in small glasses.
• Main course: Spanish potato omelette with pipirrana on the side.
• Dessert: olive oil ice cream with seasonal fruit, such as peaches or figs.

Make the cold soup, the pipirrana and the ice cream the day before. On the day you will only need to make the tortilla, or even have it ready in the morning, and serve. It is proof that summer recipes with olive oil let you spend more time with your guests and less time at the stove.

Tips for summer cooking with olive oil

• Cook early in the morning or in the evening. Use the coolest hours for dishes that need the hob.
• Use raw oil at the end. A drizzle over cold soups and salads just before serving lifts the aroma.
• Chill soups well. Salmorejo, gazpacho and ajoblanco taste better after a few hours in the fridge. Eat them within one or two days.
• Take care with homemade mayonnaise. In hot weather, make it just before eating and always keep it cold.
• Keep the oil away from heat. In summer the kitchen gets very hot: keep the bottle in a cool, dark cupboard. We give more tips in our guide on how to store olive oil and its shelf life.
• Keep food cold on the go. If you are heading to the beach or a picnic, use a cool box with ice packs.

More summer recipes with olive oil

If you are hungry for more, here are other summer recipes with olive oil where extra virgin takes centre stage:

• Andalusian gazpacho. Tomato, cucumber, pepper, garlic, bread, vinegar and oil, blended and well chilled.
• Courgette carpaccio. Wafer-thin slices of courgette with oil, lemon, sea salt flakes and cured cheese.
• Tomato and peach salad. With burrata or fresh cheese and a generous drizzle of green oil.
• Marinated sardines or mackerel. Cured in vinegar and then covered in olive oil and garlic.
• Summer toast. Bread, grated tomato, oil, anchovies and oregano.

You will find more ideas in our guide to the uses of olive oil.

Frequently asked questions about summer recipes with olive oil

When July comes round again and the blinds come down, you know what to do: a fridge full of cold soups, a table in the shade and a bottle of good green olive oil within reach. Make them, share them and enjoy Mediterranean cooking at its freshest.