Delicious Labor Day Recipes

Planning for Labor Day weekend? Try these delicious recipes for your next cookout.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Dates 

Ingredients:

• 12 dates, cut in half lengthwise, pit removed
• 2 ounces sliced prosciutto, torn into 24 strips
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 1/4 cup Organic Meyer Lemon Olive Oil
• Blood Orange Balsamic Vinegar for drizzling
• 2 tablespoons toasted walnuts, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the goat cheese with the Lemon Olive Oil and mix well.
3. Place the date halves cut side up and using a small spoon, place a teaspoon of the lemon goat cheese in the center of the date.
4. Place a stuffed date half on the largest end of the prosciutto slice and roll the prosciutto tightly around the date.
5. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 8 minutes until prosciutto is crisp and dates are heated through.
6. To serve, skewer with toothpicks, drizzle with Blood Orange Balsamic and sprinkle with crushed walnuts.

Extra Virgin Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

• 1 dozen hard-boiled eggs
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 3 teaspoons We Olive Wasabi Sake Mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh chives
• Extra virgin olive oil and sea salt to garnish*

Peel the hard-boiled eggs and slice them in half lengthwise. Scoop the yolks into a medium bowl and combine with mayonnaise and mustard. Work the mixture until well incorporated and smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Using a small spreading knife, scoop about a tablespoon of the mixture into the empty egg white and smooth with the back of the knife. Repeat with remaining eggs. Garnish the eggs with a sprinkling of chives and sea salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

*We love a robust, grassy olive oil that stands up to the richness of the eggs. We also like a sea salt that has a coarser grain and gives the eggs a nice bit of crunch.

Summer Panzanella

Ingredients:

• 1 small (7-ounce) loaf of ciabatta or sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted, or We Olive EVOO
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• half a small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
• 1 batch Easy Italian vinaigrette 

Italian Vinaigrette Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup We Olive EVOO
• 2 tablespoons We Olive Aged Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, pressed or finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions

To Make The Panzanella:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Spread the bread out on a large baking sheet 
3. Meanwhile, as the bread is baking, prep your other ingredients and the vinaigrette.
4. Once the bread is ready to go, transfer it to a large serving bowl, along with the chickpeas, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, Parmesan, and basil.  Drizzle evenly with the Italian vinaigrette, and toss to combine.
5. Serve immediately, garnished with extra Parmesan if desired.  Or, cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours to let the flavors meld together more, stirring only once.

To Make The Vinaigrette:

Whisk all ingredients together until combined.

Steak Kabobs

Ingredients Marinade

• 1/4 c We Olive EVOO
• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp Dijon
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients Kabobs:

• 1 3/4 lbs sirloin steak (look for thicker steaks), cut into 1 1/4 inch pieces
• 3 bell peppers (1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow) cut into 1 1/4-inch piece
• 1 large red onion diced into chunks (about 1 1/4-inch)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for brushing grill grates
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 10 wooden skewer sticks soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

Directions

1. For the marinade: In a mixing bowl whisk together all marinade ingredients.
2. For the kebabs: place the steak into a gallon size resealable bag. Pour marinade over steak then seal bag while pressing out excess air and message marinade over steak. Transfer to refrigerator and allow to marinate 3 – 6 hours.
3. Preheat a grill over medium-high heat to about 425 degrees (partway through preheating clean grill grates if they aren’t already clean).
4. With veggies on the cutting board, drizzle with We Olive EVOO and lightly toss to coat (I actually don’t toss the onion because I like it to stay in chunks when you thread the onion on the layer in chunks about 2 – 3 slices so they don’t burn up).
5. Sprinkle veggies evenly with garlic powder and season with salt and pepper. To assemble kebabs layer steak and veggies onto kebabs in the desired order, work to fit 4 steak pieces onto each kebab (I like to layer 2 onion slices together).
6. Brush grill grates lightly with We Olive EVOO. Place kebabs on grill and grill until center of steak registers about 140 – 145 degrees

Spicy Watermelon Cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 c. Blanco tequila
• 1/2 c. mezcal
• 1 jalapeño pepper, halved, plus slices for garnish
• 3 c. cubed seedless watermelon (preferably from small watermelons)
• 6 tbsp. fresh lime juice, plus wedges for garnish
• 6 tbsp. simple syrup

Directions

1. Combine tequila, mezcal, and jalapeño in a jar or bowl. Let stand at least 20 minutes or up to 1 hour. Discard jalapeño. 
2. Place watermelon in a pitcher and muddle until broken down. Add tequila mixture, lime juice, and simple syrup. Serve chilled in a pitcher, cup, or a hollowed-out watermelon over ice garnished with jalapeño slices and lime wedges.