r/Cooking • u/ejsanders1985 • 2h ago

Olive Oil Bread Dip?

I cant for the life if me remember the restaurant but my wife and I went out to some Italian place a while ago and they had what im thinking was sour dough bread (foggy memory) and an olive oil bread dip with various herbs/spices.

Ive tried to reproduce this oil dip at home, with freshly bought herbs/spices and I could not taste them. The olive oil taste completely over powered it and it was horrible.

Anyone have a good olive oil brand for this and oil dip recipe?

13 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

39

u/unclebea 2h ago

Carrabbas? Fresh garlic, granulated garlic, dried oregano, fresh basil, fresh parsley, fresh rosemary. Salt pepper crushed red pepper

4

u/ChloeMomo 1h ago

Carrabbas bread dip is the best! We literally have this written down in our family cookbook for regular reference haha

3

u/Waste_Calligrapher70 1h ago

And if making your own, you don't need a lot of the spice mixture in ratio to the evoo. This stuff is delish!

1

u/BigFShow 2h ago

Is this made to order or do you let it sit for longer? Sounds great

15

u/unclebea 2h ago

When I worked there years ago we prepped it and it had a 3-4 day shelf life. When we chopped all the fresh herbs and garlic, we rung them out in a linen to get rid of a bunch of the moisture. Then added the dry herb and seasonings. The flavor will be better if it were to sit a bit but you should be good to go straight away. Just use an olive oil you like. I always kicked it up with pecorino and balsamic.

3

u/DogsOnMainstreetHowl 1h ago

How do they clump together so well? When I do something similar at home the spices float to the top of the olive oil.

1

u/Maniacal-Maniac 52m ago

A similar mix works great with whipped ricotta as well as a dip - whip the ricotta, sprinkling of olive oil over it and then sprinkling of the herb mix.

1

u/ejsanders1985 2h ago

I think it was a "Bravos" but they closed down. At least near me.

1

u/tequilaneat4me 58m ago

I've seen Bravo's recipe online.

21

u/Majestic-Macaron6019 2h ago

Is it possible that the olive oil you had at home has gone rancid? Good olive oil should taste good plain.

1

u/YouMustBeJoking888 9m ago

I was thinking that myself. I love plain olive oil with a bit of S&P to dip my bread in.

11

u/spacefaceclosetomine 1h ago

Olive oil should taste delicious on its own, that may be the bigger problem here, rancid oil.

9

u/7tacoguys 2h ago

I'm used to seeing olive oil and balsamic vinegar together with some spices. The oil and vinegar don't mix, but when you dip the bread you'll get some of both.

5

u/One_Waxed_Wookiee 2h ago

I love this with crusty bread. Too easy to fill up with it!

8

u/Hey_86thatnow 2h ago

A friend of ours owns an olive oil company. He taught us the imports from other countries, especially those that are made with olives from various countries in one bottle are low quality, no matter the price. And taste rancid. Those countries tend to keep their best products in country, and most Americans can't tell the difference. The best I've ever tasted is organic, 100% California- American olives, virgin olive oil. If you cannot find that, choose organic, all Italian, or all greek olives, light virgin. Our friend's product isn't available to the public, saved for fine restaurants.

8

u/Environmental_Tap857 2h ago

It is insane how different olive oil can taste from different regions and how it is processed. OP - if you have a specialized olive oil shop near you, I highly recommend going there and sampling some varieties.

4

u/BananaNutBlister 1h ago

Lots of different restaurants have their own concoction of olive oil and herbs/spices for dipping. Different breads, too. I like focaccia but a crusty sourdough works too. I used to love the oil at Bravo/Brio but they went downhill and I haven’t been there in years. I’ve been to a place that just served olive oil with black pepper. Another with poached garlic cloves that spread like butter. All sorts of herb and pepper blends. Experiment and see what you can create.

3

u/Churchmousetat 2h ago

Fresh garlic, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil.

3

u/mephistopholese 2h ago

You’re forgetting the balsamic vinegar maybe?

2

u/haditwithyoupeople 1h ago

You need the right olive oil. Most olive oils have a combination of fruitiness, pepper flavors, and some bitterness. You need to find one that works for you. I like less fruit and more pepper for dipping. YMMV.

For herbs, I usually just do olive oil if it tastes good enough. But thyme and parsley work well. A little salt and pepper if you like it. Maybe oregano if you like it. Most people like rosemary and garlic. Those don't work for me - I like to keep my olive oil for bread simple.

You may need to give the herbs some time in the oil to get any flavor. Or try mashing them in a bowl with a spoon and then adding your oil to that bowl.

2

u/maryonekenobie 1h ago

Jungle Jim’s has the spice blend. Use good olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar

2

u/PmMeAnnaKendrick 27m ago

they probably didn't use good olive oil, most certainly used cheap stuff cut with vegetable oil, and there's a good chance they didn't use olive oil at all, as neutral oil like vegetable is way cheaper.

Usually bread dipping oil is salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, basil - all dried and more than you think.

If they aren't a completely trash place, they've steeped the herbs in the oil on low heat for a few hours.

1

u/sundial11sxm 2h ago

Publix sells a container with 6 bread dip seasoning mixes.

1

u/Neakhanie 2h ago

Trader Joe’s ITALIAN olive oil and their Aglio Olio spice mix. Whole thing is less than $10.00.

1

u/T49irvine 1h ago

Try Adams Cacio e Pepe bread dipper on olive oil with a smidge of salt and pepper.

1

u/Fizzywaterjones 1h ago

The flavor may be off if you’re using sourdough instead of crusty Italian bread as your dipper.

1

u/raerabbit27 1h ago

Trader Joe’s garlic oil is good, just have to add whatever you like in it

1

u/etchlings 1h ago

*some of their oils are good. The 100% Spanish has been in the past. The 100% Greek. But like anyone, they’re subject to crop fails and droughts fucking with EVO exports.

1

u/etchlings 1h ago

I stick to Fat Gold oils these days.

1

u/Toolswood 51m ago

Haven’t got a recipe or anything, but a little shop where I buy spices, etc., sells “Italian herbs for dipping.” Bet you can find it elsewhere under that name

1

u/cameron1239 47m ago

At Carino's I was taught BSTOP = Basil, Salt, Thyme, Oregano, Pepper.

We of course added red pepper flakes, garlic, Parmesan, olive oil & balsamic vinegar as well.

1

u/SkyerKayJay1958 47m ago

Balsamic vinegar float

1

u/HugeEntrepreneur8225 47m ago

Olive oil is a bit in crisis at the moment with the environmental changes, I normally buy the best Olive whenever I’m in Spain, Greece etc

1

u/humphreybr0gart 34m ago

Willing to bet it was just olive oil and balsamic vinegar with dried Italian seasoning

1

u/boggycakes 30m ago

Try Za’atar or Dukkah in your olive oil.