dipping oil

dippimg oil

with a good quality oil try not to put too much in it.
remember less is more.you take an amount of , infuse it with shallot ,garlic,whole blk pepcrn and 1 herb and let it rest covered in a cool dark place.make sure your items are covered by the oil.after a week smell and taste.then you may want to strain and only add back an herb for visual and some fresh cracked pepper.
it is important that you choose an oil with some flavor.try a good quality extr virgin,wether it be french,italian or spanish.

bread dressing

HI,

We were hooked on a mix we called bread dressing. Copied from a pizza restaurant chain. Made from good olive oil, a little neutral oil if the live oil is a bit heavy, balsamic vinegar , garlic ( infused ) and salt and coarse ground black pepper.

Dave

Not to be a wet blanket but watch the garlic in the olive oil if left it can produce bacteria. If I've got great oil and bread there is nothing else necessary.

Good point, Shroomgirl.

When I was in Tuscany this summer, an ex-pat American chef there told me the Italians don't do the dipping oil thing with bread- it's an American thing, according to her.

I'm not a dipper but know people that are....I'd rather spread butter....European unsalted please....I just went to an olive oil tasting and the nuances were great, Bob had French, Spainish and Italian, no Californian to think of it... I prefer the less peppery, less acidic???(not sure what the correct term would be) but some hits the back of your throat pretty hard. My larder probably has a dozen olive oils...each like a good wine has certain characteristics that make it appealing....I wouldn't want to gummy them up...or make preverbial sangria with them.

Carrabba's here in FL serves a wonderful oil concoction prior to every meal. The waitperson brings a small saucer of herbs to the table and pours oil (already on the table) into the saucer, then presents it to the diners. You can easily make your own. Combine:

* Finely Chopped Rosemary
* Chopped fresh oregano
* Chopped basil leaves
* Chopped fresh flat leaf Italian parsley (NOT curly)
* Chopped fresh thyme
* Pinch kosher salt
* Pinch freshly ground black or white pepper

Place in a flat plate and drizzle in copious amounts of the most fruity, flavorful olive oil you can find. Dip into it, the most crusty peasant bread available - bread so crusty it makes your teeth hurt!

Because the herbs are fresh, they must be chopped very close to service. (They get brown and nasty if left too long.) Also, don't try to do this in a food processor. Food processors do obscene things to rosemary - some fresh herbs pick up a metallic taste.

That is the best description of that era's Italian cooking I've ever heard. :)

I've heard the same thing, I have found that you can't really cheap out on this one...you have to be willing to purchase a good quality (we prefer the extra virgin for dipping bread) and some people aren't fond of the "weight" of Olive oil and there are "light" tasting varieties, but I have found for the traditional dipping of a yummy french baguette or crusty rolls/bread sticks, the extra virgin with the garlic infused overnight. Make sure to post your final "best recipe", I am curious to see what you end up finding you like!

+1

 

I think adding flavors to the oil is redundant. You will be getting that again with salad and entree. K.I.S.S.

 

Watch how much bread you dip, you will want to save room for dessert!

Don't hold your breath waiting for it, GidsMama. You probably just didn't notice, but this thread---even dating from the last reply---is more than 7 years old.   And the OP hasn't been around for quite some time.

 

FWIW, I'm like Shroomgirl. If I'm gonna dip, just a good quality extra virgin does me just fine. Or I might jazz it up with just a single herb; fresh oregano, perhaps, or thyme. Mucking it up with a selection of herbs, IMO, just overpowers the taste of the oil

haha thanks!  I just joined, still a little green so I guess I am gonna pay attention to those dates!!  <---taking a breath now 

I do agree, the simplest is usually the best, it seems most folks in my parts have to over power everything, but I must say the last time I put just a clove of roasted garlic in over night and oh my yummy, very subtle, but mm mmm good:)  I have actually never added any other herbs, but I think I might try the oregano, that sounds good! Thanks for letting me know and happy new year!!

Nuthin' wrong with giving an old thread a "bump".

 

I love great bread with great olive oil.

Good bread and good olive oil is a match made in heaven. Nothing else is needed but occasionally I will drizzle some aged balsamic on to the oil but only a few drops

 

   Hi Shroomgirl,

 

   The nuances of good olive oil are as special as trying butter (or honey) from different regions using different feed (or flowers).  You even get nuances from the same producer using the same fields just going from one year to another.

 

      I hate to generalize with olive oils.  But...I wonder if your preference for olive oils, right now, may be with the bit gentler Picual vs the more pronounced Aberquina.  If you ever get a chance to try some of the French Olive oils.  Again, I hate to generalize with olive oils because their are too many differences that influence flavor...but some of the French Oils can be an entirely different animal. 

 

       My favorite French olive oil so far is la gourde.  It is sooooooo smooth...and sooooo buttery.  While I really love some of the other olive oils better overall, some of the French olive oils really have their place on the table.  It's common for me to have current year olive oils from multiple regions in Italy, Spain and Greece among other places...each from different producers with different olives.  But a good French olive oil has a different set of flavors with a different area of use.  La Gourde is actually a blend, but done very well.

 

  Happy New Year!

  dan
 

 

  edit add:  I didn't realize I quoted Shroomgirl from 2002.