Recipes

Put your Gilly’s dressings to good use with these delicious recipes.

Classic Bruschetta

Ingredients

  • 1 baguette or rustic Italian bread
  • 4 ripe tomatoes, diced
  • 2–3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 small bunch fresh basil, chopped
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing bread
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Gilly’s Original Balsamic Dressing to taste

Method

Prepare the tomato topping:
In a bowl, combine diced tomatoes, minced garlic, chopped basil, olive oil, Gilly’s Original to taste, salt, and pepper.
Let it sit for 10–15 minutes to allow flavors to infuse.
 
Toast the bread:
Slice the baguette into ½-inch slices.
Brush each side lightly with olive oil.
Toast in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 5–7 minutes, or until golden and crispy. Alternatively, grill on a pan for a few minutes per side.
 
Assemble the bruschetta:
Spoon the tomato mixture generously onto each toasted bread slice.
Drizzle a tiny bit of extra olive oil and Gilly’s Original on top.
 
Serve immediately — bruschetta is best eaten fresh while the bread is still crisp.

Caramelised Red Onion & Goat’s Cheese Tart

Ingredients

  • 1 sheet puff pastry
  • 1 red onions, finely chopped
  • 1 knob butter
  • Salt & pepper, to taste
  • 1–2 tbsp brown sugar
  • Cherry tomatoes, halved
  • Goat’s cheese (soft or crumbly)
  • Rocket
  • Gilly’s Original Balsamic Dressing

Method

Caramelise the onions
Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the chopped red onions with salt and pepper. Cook slowly until softened, then stir in brown sugar and Gilly’s Original. Continue cooking until dark, glossy, and thick. Set aside.
 
Prepare the pastry
Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Cut puff pastry into 5-inch squares and place on baking parchment.
 
Assemble
Spoon caramelised onions into the centre of each pastry square. Add cherry tomato halves and goat’s cheese.
 
Bake
Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed.
 
Serve
Finish with a handful of rocket a drizzle of Gilly’s Original and serve warm.

Mushroom tarts

Ingredients

  • 500g mushrooms cubed
  • 1 white onion diced
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 100ml white wine
  • 100ml cream
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp parsley
  • Gilly’s Original Dressing to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 180 Celsius.
Take a pre-rolled puff pastry sheet and fold in two.
Cut folded sheet into 6 and score a line in the top 1 cm inside the edge.
Egg wash the pastry and bake on a baking tray until browned and risen.
Cut the scored section out and leave to sit.

Fry onion in olive oil until soft.
Add mushrooms and garlic and cooked until browned.
Add wine and reduce by half.
Add paprika, Gilly’s Blonde Dressing and cream and reduce until thick.

Fill pastries with mushroom mix and replace the top, serve with rocket and Gilly’s Original Dressing.

Tomato and basil soup

Ingredients

  • 50gms butter
  • 1 onion (sliced)
  • 1 carrot (sliced)
  • 3 roasted tomato
  • 30cl red wine
  • 1ltr veg stock
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes
  • 1tbsp tomato puree
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 50g sugar
  • Gilly’s Original Dressing to taste
  • Fresh basil
  • 100 ml cream

Method

Heat butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add onion and carrot. Cover and simmer for 10 mins until soft. Add wine, reduce by half. Add all tomatoes, stock and garlic. Bring to the boil, turn down heat, cover and simmer for 30 mins. Take off heat and blend. Stir in Gilly’s Original Dressing and basil. Garnish with cream and croutons.

Risotto verde

Ingredients

  • 2tbs olive oil
  • 100g peas
  • 50g spinach
  • 400ml veg stock
  • 1 small onion,
  • 1 tsp garlic
  • S&P
  • 150g risotto rice
  • 60ml white wine
  • 50g butter
  • 4 stalks of asparagus, finally sliced.
  • 50g parmesan to serve
  • 50g pine nuts and/or pumpkin seeds
  • Gilly’s Blonde Dressing to taste
  • 1 tsp parsley

Method

Roast tomatoes in the oven and boil eggs. Heat butter and olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan, add onion and cook until soft. Add risotto and stir for a minute. Turn the heat up and add the wine and garlic, let the rice absorb the wine. Add stock a little at a time until rice is plump and cooked. Add peas, asparagus and spinach as rice is almost ready. Stir in butter, Parmesan and Gilly’s Blonde Dressing. Season to taste and set aside with the lid on for a few mins. Fry the nuts and seeds in a dry pan until lightly browned. Serve with roasted cherry tomatoes and a boiled egg. Sprinkle over the seeds, parsley and extra Parmesan to taste.

Warm Halloumi and BBQ veggie rice salad

Ingredients

  • 1 block Halloumi
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 pepper
  • 1 courgette
  • 1 small aubergine
  • Spinach
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 cup rice
  • Handful mixed seeds
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
  • Gilly’s Apple Dressing to taste

Method

Marinade veggies in olive oil, mixed herbs and salt and pepper. BBQ until browned. BBQ or pan fry Halloumi until fully browned. Cook rice to your preference. Assemble and garnish with seeds, parsley, and Gilly’s Apple Dressing.

Pavlova or Eton Mess

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • 250g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 300ml double cream
  • 500g summer berries (strawberry, raspberry)
  • Gilly’s Syrup to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 130 Celsius. Separate egg whites and yolks. Whisk egg whites, slowly adding sugar until soft peaks have formed. Add tsp vanilla and mix well. Piping bag or spoon onto a baking tray. Bake for approximately 1 hour, if starting to brown then remove and leave to cool. Whisk double cream and until soft peaks have formed. ​ Arrange or crush meringues with whipped cream and your choice of berry fruits and use a little Gilly’s Syrup as a pouring sauce

Melon, Mozzarella and Parma ham salad

Ingredients

  • Half a melon
  • 1 ball mozzarella
  • 3 slices Parma ham
  • 100g walnuts
  • Tbsp chopped fresh mint
  • Gilly’s Original Dressing to taste
  • Salt and pepper

Method

Slice a ripe melon. Roughly chop a mozzarella ball. Roughly tear strips of Parma ham. Serve with rocket, walnuts and mint. Dress with Gilly’s Original Dressing and season to taste.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredients

  • Spaghetti
  • 3 onions
  • 3 tabs garlic puree
  • 500g lean mince meat
  • 2 large tins of tomatoes (chopped)
  • 1 tsp tomato purée
  • 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
  • Gilly’s Original Dressing​ to taste

Method

In a hot, heavy bottomed pan fry the mince in oil until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon. In the same pan, fry the chopped onions until soft. Crumble stock cube and red wine and reduce by half. Add the tinned tomatoes, purée and herbs. Bring to the boil and let simmer for 35 minutes with the lid half on. If the sauce needs to reduce more then remove the lid during cooking, if not then cover the sauce entirely. Add salt, pepper and 1 tbsp Gilly’s Original Dressing just before serving. Serve with spaghetti, green salad and garlic bread.

Spanish baked eggs

Ingredients

  • 2 free range eggs
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 white onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tsp mixed herbs
  • 2 tbsp grated hard cheese
  • Gilly’s Original Dressing to taste

Method

Chop and fry the onion in olive oil until softened. Add garlic, mixed herbs and chopped tomatoes and reduce for 5-10 min. Transfer to 2 ramekins and make a well in the middle. Crack an egg into the well and cover with grated cheese. Bake at 180 degrees for 10-15 min or until egg is cooked to your preference. Serve with spinach, avocado or salad. Dress with Gilly’s Original Dressing.

Smoked mackerel bruschetta

Ingredients

  • 2 slices sourdough or other
  • toasting bread
  • 1 fillet of smoked mackerel
  • 200g garden peas
  • Pinch of fresh mint
  • 1 roasted beetroot
  • Butter
  • Gilly’s Blonde Dressing to taste

    ​

Method

Boil garden peas until cooked. Drain and crush the peas with a knob of butter, mint and seasoning. Blend the beetroot until smooth. Slice the mackerel fillet. Toast and butter the bread. Assemble the bruschetta, garnish with edible flowers and/or micro herbs. Dress with Gilly’s Blonde Dressing.

Chickpea and vegetable tagine

Ingredients

  • 1 tin chickpeas
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 chopped white onion
  • 1 sliced leek
  • 1 cubes carrot
  • 1/4 cubed butternut squash
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp natural yogurt
  • 2 tsp Ras el hanout or other
  • Moroccan spice blend
  • Gilly’s Pomegranate Dressing to taste

Method

Oil and season the leek, carrot and squash with half the spice mix. Roast at 180 degrees for 30 min or until cooked to taste. Pan fry onion in oil until softened. Add garlic, drained chickpeas and the rest of the spice mix and stir for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and reduce for 30 min, stir in the yogurt and transfer to bowls. Assemble the roasted veg on top of the tagine and serve with rice, cous cous or flatbread. Dress with Gilly’s Pomegranate Dressing.

Rigatoni cheese

Ingredients

  • 200g rigatoni pasta
  • 25g butter
  • 25g flour
  • 500ml milk
  • 200g cheddar cheese or to taste
  • 100g fresh breadcrumbs
  • 50g mixed seeds
  • Gilly’s Apple Balsamic Dressing to taste

Method

Melt the butter on a low heat in a saucepan. Add flour and stir constantly for 5-10 min until flour is cooked. Add milk a little at a time, whisking as it thickens. Add half the cheese, whisk and remove from the heat. Boil pasta until cooked. Drain pasta and pour mix into the sauce. Pour all into a baking tray and cover with the rest of the grated cheese, breadcrumbs and mixed seeds. Bake until golden brown and cheese has fully melted. Serve with pan fried greens. Dress with Gilly’s Apple Balsamic Dressing.

Cheese and crackers

Ingredients

  • Cheese
  • Crackers
  • Fresh figs
  • Whole almonds
  • Gilly’s Balsamic Syrup

Method

Assemble cheese on a cracker with fresh fig, almonds and Gilly’s Balsamic Syrup