Cooking with Olive Oil

[Brad S]

I just took some sundried tomatoes I had made,laid them on a plate and topped them with a white anchovey fillet a couple capers and some toasted fennel seeds and then topped it with another tomato and drizzled them with olive oil.

Made me wonder how eGulleters like to use olive oil.

Sorry if this topic has been discussed already.

[Jaymes]

You might have done a "search" to locate other olive oil threads....

I use olive oil most often in just plain bruschetta... rough bread... toasted, rubbed with garlic, brushed with EVOO, sprinkled with sea salt. I usually use either Morea from Greece, or Nuñez de Prado from Spain. I also like Colavita... affordable and nice peppery finish.

Also, make a simple salad: sliced tomatoes, sweet onions, few good olives, drizzle with Morea and balsamic vinegar, sprinkle with flat leaf parsley, sea salt, and generous handful Greek Feta.

Good olive oil is sublime.

Oh - also often do that American thing of dipping bread into olive oil, sometimes with a few herbs, sometimes not.

I think the reasons Italians are so uppity about not doing this is just because they haven't tried it.

And, of course, because the Americans started it.

[Brad S]

But what about "bagna cauda"? that's all Italian and it's all about dipping.

[Jaymes]

But what about "bagna cauda"? that's all Italian and it's all about dipping.

Yep, but it isn't about taking a plain piece of bread and swabbing it through plain olive oil. Or, for that matter, taking a plain piece of bread and smearing it with butter.

Both of those things seem to me anyway to be darn difficult to do in Italian restaurants.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Since I import Alziari olive oil from Nice, we liberally douse everything in it. My favorite is on ripe tomatoes with some fresh goat cheese spread on top, doused with the oil and sprinkled with good salt. Yummy. Also is great used in those raw tomato sauces.

[Brad S]

Steve,

That sounds great.

I love a salad of Arugula and baby spinach with fried procuitto,toasted pine nuts and dried figs. I dress it very simply with EVOO,Balsamic vinegar a little mustard and lemon zest. S&P ofcourse.

BTW, where can one buy your oil?

[Steve Plotnicki]

Kitchen Arts & Letters, Citarella, Eli's, Vinegar Factory and Loaves & Fishes in the Hamptons. I'm very picky with customers .

[Brad S]

Thank you,

Next time i'm at Citarella on the west side i'll pick some up.

[FoodMan]

I do not know where to begin. I put olive oil on vegetables to roast, it is the main ingredient in all my salad dressings (I know that some think it overpowers the other ingredients but I love it), I love to dip my homemade bread in it with some kosher salt, pepper and herbs, I toss some pasta in it with some oil packed white tuna and olives, drizzled on top of fresh mozz and basil. Just to name a few.

I would appreciate some pointers on what Olive Oil brands you fellows use and where to get them (Websites or stores), I know that a couple of e-gulleteers are olive oil mechants.

Thanks

FM

[Timo]

oohhh... anyone shop at Olivier & Co. ? I went for the first time, in Boston a few weeks ago. My expertise on olive oil is extremely limited, but this place was truly an experience! (a good one that is) Luckily, they mail order as well!

[Fat Guy]

Yes we have quite the olive oil importer contingent here on eGullet. We've got a user on the East Coast, a user on the West Coast, and a user in Texas who handles that territory on behalf of Central Market. And I know of one lurker.

I've tried Jim Dixon's Don Alfonso stuff and it's great.

http://realgoodfood.com/

I think the best source for a variety of absolutely top flight olive oils is Rare Wine Co.

http://www.rarewineco.com/pdfs/oilapril02.pdf

[Adam Balic]

Oh - also often do that American thing of dipping bread into olive oil, sometimes with a few herbs, sometimes not.

I think the reasons Italians are so uppity about not doing this is just because they haven't tried it.

And, of course, because the Americans started it.

I didn't know this was an American thing. When the New olive oil arrives/is produced in Chianti the Italians I know sit around a shallow bowl of the oil dip their bread in and sprinkle salt on top. They also pour the oil over a lot of other thinks, like steak, bean/chickpeas or fish, so I can't see them having in problem with bread. Obviously, Italy is a diverse country so who knows?

Will extra special oil - just bread and salt or pasta. Second grade stuff gets used on almost every food item in our home.

[Jaymes]

Oh - also often do that American thing of dipping bread into olive oil, sometimes with a few herbs, sometimes not.

I think the reasons Italians are so uppity about not doing this is just because they haven't tried it.

And, of course, because the Americans started it.

I didn't know this was an American thing. When the New olive oil arrives/is produced in Chianti the Italians I know sit around a shallow bowl of the oil dip their bread in and sprinkle salt on top. They also pour the oil over a lot of other thinks, like steak, bean/chickpeas or fish, so I can't see them having in problem with bread. Obviously, Italy is a diverse country so who knows?

Will extra special oil - just bread and salt or pasta. Second grade stuff gets used on almost every food item in our home.

I have also seen Italians dipping bread when sampling that year's new production of olive oil.

What I have never seen is Italians sitting around in restaurants in Italy dipping bread into saucers of oil, or oil with herbs, etc.

And when I ask for it, they glare at me.

I began trying this after being unable to have butter brought to the table for my bread. Some restaurants just told me they were sorry, but they didn't even HAVE any butter....which I found hard to believe, but okay, so then can I have a little olive oil in a saucer...I KNOW you have olive oil.

I'm sorry, but I just don't like my bread dry. Of course, I will eat it that way, but prefer some sort of oil or fat or something.

OH - they DO put olive oil on bread....witness bruschetta.... and you can order that, and I often do.

It's the dipping thing I've never seen in restaurants there.

[Adam Balic]

Not so much sampling, as a celebration thing. My brother-in-law puts oil on the bread until later in the year when he concludes that it isn't goo enough for the bread any more. Dukkah is fun, but New oil is even better.

[Jinmyo]

Dipping raw vegetables in the new EVOO occurs. When I was a child, hanging out in Italy, I saw this quite often. Bread too though.

[Brad S]

Dipping raw vegetables in the new EVOO occurs. When I was a child, hanging out in Italy, I saw this quite often. Bread too though.

Jinmyo,

Would this be the bagna cauda I talked about?

[Jaymes]

Dipping raw vegetables in the new EVOO occurs. When I was a child, hanging out in Italy, I saw this quite often. Bread too though.

Jinmyo,

Would this be the bagna cauda I talked about?

Might be a good topic for a new thread.

I am not the final authority for Bagna Cauda, but my recipe for the dip is:

1/2 cup butter

10 cloves garlic, minced

2 (2 ounce) cans anchovy fillets, drained

1 pint heavy cream

Cooked for a while till creamy and served warm.

I think this is fairly traditional...

EDIT: Thought about it some more, and after SA's post, realized I've only been making it this way for about three years, and is probably not traditional. I actually got this recipe on the internet somewhere, thought it sounded interesting and tried it. It IS good... very rich and creamy.

[Brad S]

bagna cauda literally means "hot bath"it's a 16th century piedmontese dish that was traditionally eaten to celebrate the end of the grape harvest and the Novella wine production. Since piedmont is land locked,it's funny they would enjoy anchovies in this dish but in earlier times traders from the Ligurian coast would treck up to piedmont to trade salt and salted fish for vegetables and garlic from piedmont.

Usally bagna cauda is a dip in a fornelletto, a little terra cotta bowl kept warm over a candle with assorted vegetable (cardoons, artichokes,peppers,fennel etc) the would dip some vegetable into the infused oil and hold in over a piece of bread as they brought it to there mouth.

I have scambled an egg into the dip when most of it is gone and drizzle alittle white truffle oil.

I make this troughout the fall and I recommend not using the finest evoo as the garlic and anchovies will over power it

[SobaAddict70]

heavy cream in bagna cauda is a new one on me.

how does it taste?

SA

[Jaymes]

heavy cream in bagna cauda is a new one on me.

how does it taste?

SA

It's good..... creamy

I use lots of olive oil. Can go through even the expensive stuff like Morea too fast, so have to keep on hand lots of different grades:

Always have EVOO, VOO, POO, and OO.

[Brad S]

simple topping for your brushettas

Slivered "raw" artichokes with pecorino

24 baby chockes (turned and sliced thin)

juice of 2 lemons

EVOO to coat and cover

S&P

1/4 # pecorino

squeeze the juice from one of the lemons into some cold water to put the chocks in after turned.

Then run them on a mandoline and squeeze the other lemon over them,season with S&P and toss with the olive oil.

You ofcourse can build on this as you see fit.

[Jim Dixon]

brushettas

Don't mean to pick on you, oh caped one, but the mispronounciation of this drives me nuts...the spelling is bruschetta, and "ch" is always pronounced like "k" in Italian, so you say brew-sketta.

(my specialty is butchering French)

Jim

[Jaymes]

brushettas

Don't mean to pick on you, oh caped one, but the mispronounciation of this drives me nuts...the spelling is bruschetta, and "ch" is always pronounced like "k" in Italian, so you say brew-sketta.

(my specialty is butchering French)

Jim

That's my pet peeve too. We Americans manage to get the correct pronunciation of "Chianti"... with the hard "ch" and "ciao" with the soft "c" so why is it so damn hard for us to say "bruschetta" correctly???

[Brad S]

Thank you Jimm,

Duely noted.

Like I said in my Bio....I am the worst speller on the internet

However, put me in a kitchen and that's a different story.

BTW, do you like to recipe?

[Jaymes]

Thank you Jimm,

Duely noted.

Like I said in my Bio....I am the worst speller on the internet 

However, put me in a kitchen and that's a different story.

BTW, do you like to recipe?

Don't know about Fat Guy, but I like the sound of it very much.... After all, artichokes and pecorino...what's not to like? Sounds fabulous! Thanks, Caped Wonder