Simply delicious recipe ideas from the chefs at Costa Navarino

You may not be able to pack the Messinian sun, sea or landscape into your suitcase, but you can certainly take some of its wonderful flavors back home to treat yourself to a Messinian meal.

With more than 50 international distinctions so far, the Navarino Icons line of select products from local producers provides you with the ingredients and the inspiration to adopt a healthy lifestyle with all the Mediterranean diet benefits, while indulging in the delicious flavors of Greek food.

Below, chefs from the restaurants at Costa Navarino offer recipes and tips for how best to enjoy the products:

Dimitris Karampampas (Executive Chef, W Costa Navarino)

The executive chef of the new W Costa Navarino offers tips on how to use some of Navarino Icons treats that come in jars.

Enhanced avocado toast

Poached eggs don’t get any tastier company than this: on a slice of sourdough bread, add half a smashed avocado, 3-4 rings of grilled onions and a generous spoonful of Navarino Icons Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Dip. Add ground pepper to taste, and enjoy.

Eggplant hummus

A jar of Crushed Roasted Eggplant will add a whole new dimension to your homemade hummus. Mix the contents pf one in with 300 grams of boiled chickpeas, 3-4 tablespoons of tahini, the juice from half a lemon, one crushed garlic clove, a pinch of pepper, and Navarino Icons Natural Sea Salt Flower, some lime zest and, of course, Navarino Icons Extra Virgin Olive Oil. As an appetizer, this will serve 2-3 happy people.

Fig dressing

For your green salad with goat cheese, there’s no better dressing than some Navarino Icons Balsamic Vinegar with a spoonful of Navarino Icons Fig Marmalade. Just mix and toss with your greens.

Νikos Kondylis (Armyra)

Chef Kondylis from Almyra describes how to make a delicious dakos salad using Navarino Icons olive tapenade and extra virgin olive oil.

Perfect dakos salad

For a mouth-watering Greek dakos salad, you’ll need 2 large barley rusks; 2 chopped/grated tomatoes; 100 grams of crumbled feta cheese; 3 pinches of oregano, salt and freshly ground pepper; 2 tablespoons of capers, 60 milliliters of Navarino Icons Extra Virgin Olive Oil and 2 tablespoons of Navarino Icons Olive Tapenade. Moisten the rusks with 4 tablespoons of water each and drizzle with olive oil. To put the dish together, spread the tomatoes on top of the rusks, add the crumbled cheese, and top with the olive tapenade. Finish it with olive oil, capers and oregano.

Giannis Parikos (Kooc Secrets)

The chef at Kooc Secrets recommends three jars from the Navarino Icons line to use for salad dressing, pasta and bruschetta.

Salad with graviera, pistachio & fig

For the perfect fig vinaigrette, mix 100 grams of Navarino Icons Fig Marmalade, 300 milliliters Navarino Icons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 150 milliliters of vinegar, 60 grams of mustard and a pinch of Navarino Icons Natural Sea Salt Flower in a blender. Drizzle on a salad of crisp greens, Naxos graviera cheese, Aegina pistachios and croutons.

Easy pasta

Any type of pasta will taste like a Greek summer dish with 150 grams of Navarino Icons Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Dip, 100 grams of fresh anthotyro cheese, 60 grams of walnuts and some fresh basil leaves.

Bruschetta with tapenade and anchovies

Your fresh tomato salsa pairs perfectly with Navarino Icons Olive Tapenade. Spread on a bruschetta, add 80 grams of feta cheese, 4-5 marinated anchovies and some lime zest – and enjoy!

Panos Tziourtzioumis (Barbouni)

For those who are ready to step it up in the kitchen, Barbouni chef Panos Tziourtzioumis shares a recipe and three great tips, perfect for your next dinner party.

Green salad with Samos wine vinaigrette

This vinaigrette recipe is easy to execute and will turn most green salads into works of culinary art. Our ingredients: 200 grams of Navarino Icons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 30 grams of Samos wine, 25 grams of fresh lemon juice, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, 1 teaspoon of mild mustard and, last but not least, 1 tablespoon of Navarino Icons Fig Marmalade. Blend the marmalade with the lemon juice, lime juice and mustard, then add the wine and, at the end, the olive oil. You can keep it in the fridge for approximately 10-15 days. I suggest a green salad with grilled halloumi, mint and fattoush, as the marmalade gives a nice taste and balance to the vinaigrette and also highlights an amazing contrast with the halloumi and the fresh mint.

Honey-kissed anchovies

Navarino Icons Greek Honey pairs very well with cured foods such as, for example, anchovies. Because of the intense flavors of the wine vinegar and the salt, I use honey to impart a milder flavor and a balance to a dish such as riganada (dry bread soaked in water with olive oil, vinegar and plenty of oregano) with cured anchovies, fresh tomato, anthotyro cheese and herring roe. The delicate flavor, aromas and sweetness of the honey do just that.

The perfect salt for your fish

The secret to any grilled fish, apart from the freshness of the fish itself, is the quality of the sea salt used. In all my recipes, I use Navarino Icons Natural Sea Salt Flower just as it is: a natural product, hand-harvested from sundried pools of seawater, and a flavor bomb packed with all goodness of the Mediterranean diet.

…and the perfect oil

In the restaurant Barbouni, we serve a couple of raw fish dishes, such as tuna tartare and amberjack ceviche. The round, fruity taste and low acidity of Navarino Icons Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the perfect finish in all my dishes, particularly the raw ones.

Nizar Jaber (Nargile)

The chef at Costa Navarino’s Lebanese restaurant Nargile shares his recipe for a scrumptious eggplant dip.

Eggplant dip

Your pita bread will find a new best friend in this easy-to-make, Middle Eastern-influenced dip using Navarino Icons Crushed Roasted Eggplant. To 150 grams of the crushed eggplant, add 4 tablespoons of tahini, 3 tablespoons of pomegranate seeds and Navarino Icons Extra Virgin Olive Oil to taste.