Recipes - Big Paw ~ Foraging Napa Valley Since 1993

Our customers are always raving about the great meals they make with our products. Here are some of those tried-and-true recipes…
Click here to share your own delicious recipe with us!

“Your wonderful creations have found a special place in our South Beach diet. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful oils and vinegars with us. They have added a sparkle to our many salads and endless veggies!”
Paul W. and Marlene D. from Bristol, VT

“Instead of regular vinegar, I always use a Big Paw vinegar. It gives all my recipes that extra boost. I made a vinaigrette once with the Jaymes Blonde 2003 and it was just amazing.”
Rex Y. from San Francisco, CA

“Your vinegars are so awesome! They have so much flavor that I barely have to add anything else to my salads and they taste great.”
Frank L. from San Mateo, CA

“Big Paw olive oils are some of the best oils I’ve ever tasted.”
Tina T. from Piedmont, CA

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Blender Mayonnaise
(Debbie Ludlow, CA)

A whole egg is needed when making mayonnaise in a blender. For a food processor, one whole egg plus one whole egg yolk will give you the right consistency.

1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard, or 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup Big Paw extra virgin olive oil (Basil Garlic, Late Harvest or Early Harvest)
1 1/2 tablespoons Big paw balsamic vinegar (Blonde or White)
1 tablespoon boiling water

Place the egg, salt, mustard, and 1/4 cup olive oil in the blender. Turn on the motor and add the remaining 3/4 cup olive oil in a slow, thin stream. Add the vinegar and water. Taste, correct the seasoning, and refridgerate until needed.

Food processor mayonnaise: use 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk and process. Add up to 1/2 cup more olive oil and adjust the amount of balsamic vinegar to taste. Omit the water.

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De-glazing Sauce
(Debbie Ludlow, CA)

Remove beef, chicken, lamb, or pork from saute pan and pour in 1/2 cup wine or chicken broth. Bring to boil, scraping brown bits from pan. Add 1/4 – 1/2 cup Big Paw balsamic vinegar (Mission Fig, Cabernet, Blackberry Vanilla or other favorite flavor). To finish sauce, add 1-2 tablespoons butter and stir with whisk to thicken.

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Fresh Corn Sautee with Wild Sage Olive Oil
(HT Jaymes Luu, CA)

2-4 ears of fresh corn, husked and trimmed off the cob
2 tablespoons of Wild Sage Olive Oil
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a shallow pan over a medium high flame. Toss or stir often. Needs about 10 minutes to convert the corn starches to sugar. Some kernels will be a light gold.

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Grilled New York Strip Steak with Fire-Roasted Salsa and Grilled Mushrooms and Asparagus
(Debbie Ludlow, CA)

4 New York Strip Steaks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons Big Paw extra virgin olive oil (Hot Tuscan)
4 portobello mushroom caps
2 cups shiitake mushroom caps
1 large white onion, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
1 bu nch jumbo asparagus, peeled
4 tomatoes, cored
3 jalapeno peppers
3 large basil leaves
2 tablespoons Big Paw balsamic vinegar (Strawberry Basil or Apricot Lavender)

Preheat grill to high. Season steaks with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

Toss the mushroom caps in 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the steaks on the hottest part of the grill. Place smaller mushrooms around the edges of the grill. Cook the steak for 4 minutes on each side for medium rare, 8 minutes on each side for well done. Cook the portobello mushrooms for 2 minutes on each side and the shiitake mushrooms for about 1-2 minutes on each side.

Coat your onion slices, asparagus, tomatoes, and jalapenos in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add to the hot grill. Cook the asparagus, onion slices and tomatoes for 4 minutes on each side. Remove from grill.

Remove charred loss rings from the onion rounds and place into blender. Remove the skins and seeds from tomatoes and discard. Add tomatoes to the blender. Remove the skin and the seeds from the jalapenos and discard. Mince the jalapenos and add to blender. Finally add the basil leaves, olive oil and balsamic vinegar to the blender and pulse until chunky. Slice the steak and portobellos on a bias. Serve with vegetables and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

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Smoked Chili Apple Cider Vinegar Poached Salmon
(Special Recipe from Tony Pennisi, Owner of Big Paw Grub)

This recipe shows the versatility of vinegar in coking. The main points here are choosing a fatty fish and a complimentary vinegar.

In a small a pan as possible (with lid), place fish and add vinegar so that the fish is a bit more than half submerged. Over a medium high heat, bring the vinegar to a boil. Cover and poach/ steam the fish for about 5 minutes or until done to your taste, without drying out the vinegar. Remove the fish and let rest while you return the pan to heat. There should be just a couple of tablespoons of vinegar left when the sauce is finished with a generous pat of butter (about 2 tablespoons). Stir over heat for about 1 minute and then pour the sauce over the fish. Done!

If you do use the Smoked Chili Apple Cider Vinegar, the fish will remain moist and acidified with the mild heat of the chilis cooked with a small bit of butter in the sauce. Lime zest, cilantro, mint, garlic, a bit of diced fruit (like mango or peach)– any 3rd or 4th ingredient can dress the base recipe further.

I also like using the white balsamics and fruit vinegars when poaching seafood. Wine vinegars with higher acids should be diluted with water or fruit juice to avoid becoming overpowering.

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Roasted Cauliflower (LOW CARB)
(Debbie Ludlow, CA)

1/2 medium cauliflower (about 1/2 lb), leaves removed
2 tablespoons Big Paw extra virgin olive oil (Late Harvest or Early Harvest)
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Cut the cauliflower wedges on a baking sheet. Lightly brush both sides of the wedges with oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast until the sides that touch the pan and the edges are golden brown (about 20 minutes). Serve 3 wedges per person.

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Spicy Greens with Warm Balsamic Dressing
(Debbie Ludlow, CA)

1 bunch arugula, cleaned, trimmed and chopped
1 head radicchio, chopped
2 cups chopped escarole (1/2 head)
1/4 cup Big Paw extra virgin olive oil (Basil & Garlic, Late Harvest or Early Harvest)
1 clove garlic, cracked
1/3 cup Big Paw balsamic vinegar (Mission Fig or Strawberry Basil)
Salt and pepper

Arrange greens on a large platter. Heat oil and garlic in a small pan over moderate heat. Simmer garlic in oil to infuse the flavor. Remove the garlic from the oil and transfer it to a small bowl. Wipe the pan and return to heat. Add balsamic vinegar. Raise heat to high and reduce vinegar by 1/2, 30 seconds. Stream oil into saucepan and whisk to combine with vinegar. Drizzle dressing over the salad and season the greens with salt and pepper.

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Orange & Rosemary Chicken
(Kyle Goodman, CA)

1 lb. cubed boneless skinless chicken breast
BIG PAW Orange and Rosemary White Balsamic Vinegar w/ a Kiss of
Apricot
BIG PAW Early Harvest Green or Manzanillo Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2-3 blood oranges
1/2-1 cup green olives
1/8 cup or less capers
2-3 bay leaves
fresh rosemary (to taste)
ground rosemary (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)

After washing and cubing the chicken breat put into a shallow dish (like a 4″X6″X1″ food storage container) with enough room for all or most of the chicken to lay flat on bottom of dish. Add enough vinegar so chicken sits half in the vinegar (usually around a 1/4 of a bottle or less). Add about half as much oil as vinegar.

Halve the oranges squeeze in juice and add the pulp. Cut olives in half leaving some whole pieces (or however your taste warrants) add to dish. Add your desired amount of capers. Add the salt, pepper, bay leaves, ground rosemary & fresh rosemary to taste.

Cover and put in refrigerator for about half an hour.

Every ten minutes or so shake up the whole dish to ensure even soaking. Cook down on medium heat until all or most of the liquid has cooked down and chicken is fully cooked.

Serve on a bed of rice (I prefer to use Trader Joe’s Wild & Basmati
Rice Pilaf using BIG PAW Early Harvest Green EVOO in place of butter) Be sure not to forget to add what you can from the bottom of the pan, so tasty.

Enjoy!

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Ravioli Heaven
(Kyle Goodman, CA)

Any BIG PAW Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Early Harvest, Late HarvestM
Basil/Garlic, or Lemon)
BIG PAW Fig Balsamic Vinegar
1 lb. Butternut Squash Ravioli (preferably from your local Farmer’s
Market but any kind’ll do)
1 lb. Portobello Mushrooms-sliced
1 lb. mixed Zuccinnis and Yellow Squash-sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic
Hand-full of fresh sage leaves
1/2 Tablespoon salted butter

This dish requires the use of two pans (one fairly large and one very
small) and two pots (one large enough to accomodate all the ravioli
and one very small.

Add enough BIG PAW EVOO to cover the bottom of the large saucepan, add crushed garlic, salt, and whatever other seasonings you’d like. Heat until oil becomes very fragrent then add the zuccinni and other squashes. After a few minutes add the mushrooms, cover, stirring occasionally.

In the small sautee pan add a desired amount of BIG PAW Fig Balsamic usually no more than 1/4 of a bottle, and cook it down on medium heat until nice and thick. Be sure to not do this at too high a heat or the glaze will burn.

Boil enough water with a pinch of sea salt an d 1 tablespoon of BIG PAW EVOO for your ravioli. Once water boils add ravioli and reduce heat. The ravioli should take no more than 3-5 minute to cook.

In smallest pan add butter and sage leaves ripped into small pieces.
All four pans should be going at once and will more than likely finish
at the same time. Once ravioli has been cooked and drained place equal portions into each dish, put squash and mushrooms on top. Add sage butter to each dish, finally topping it all off with your BIG PAW Fig Balsamic reduction.