Recipe Inspo

Ideas from our chefs.

A little inspiration for your next plate — and why that final drizzle of olive oil brings flavour, texture, and shine together.

Lucky Dragon

Grilled Zucchini on Stracciatella

Caramelised, tender zucchini slices, seasoned with salt, tossed with chopped parsley, pickled onions, toasted pine nuts, thinly sliced radish, lemon zest and squeeze of lemon juice, spooned over a bed of stracciatella and finished with a glossy drizzle of olive oil.

In this dish, the drizzle of olive oil adds fruity and peppery flavour to balance against the creamy flavours of the zucchini and stracciatella and acidity of the picked onions and lemon juice. The glossy texture of the oil connects the ingredients of the dish with a smooth mouthfeel and the visual impact of the golden drizzle on the white background of the stracciatella is the final touch that makes this a work of art.

Pan con Tomate

A simple idea: Crisp, toasted bread, rubbed with a garlic clove and topped with oxheart tomato pulp (grated, drained and seasoned with salt and olive oil). Layer with salty anchovies if you are a lover and finished with a generous drizzle of olive oil for a simple, deeply satisfying bite.

The best tomatoes are sweet, with an acidic kick. The drizzle of olive oil balances out the acidity of the tomato and brings depth of flavour that carries the fruit flavours to all parts of the mouth. While the tomato is watery and the bread is crispy, the importance of olive oil in the texture of this bite, is to bring an enjoyable silky mouthfeel. And of course, the shine that final drizzle adds to the presentation makes this a mouthwatering tapas.

Dirty Martini with Olive Oil

Something fun: A chilled dirty martini with briny olive notes, finished with a smooth float of olive oil. Find the recipe you like best (try 60mL vodka/gin, 15mL dry vermouth and 20mL olive brine and a pinch of black pepper). Strain into a chilled martini glass, garnish with olives and carefully place some droplets of olive oil.

Why the olive oil? It adds depth of flavour and complexity and it creates a more silky mouthfeel in an offset against the thinness of the alcohol, but of course, those gold-green droplets just stand out in the presentation of this unforgettable drink for your guests.

Jazzed Up Hummus

This one is too easy: Take store-bought hummus (or another dip), top with some of your favourite garnishes, such as pickled veg and finish with a generous drizzle of olive oil.

In a dip, olive oil may add a new flavour or complement the savoury flavours of the dip – against a hummus it adds a fruity note to the otherwise savoury chick-pea flavour. Especially for bean-based dips, the drizzle of olive oil will add silkiness to the otherwise grainy texture. Of course, presentation of a dip is the difference between it being gobbled up or not, and olive oil just makes an ordinary dip look so gourmet!

Khanh Ong

Crispy Skin Fish with Mash Potato

Crispy skin, flaky white fish served over creamy mashed potato with roasted cherry tomatoes and grilled greens, finished with a drizzle of olive oil.

The final drizzle of olive oil in a dish like this adds depth and a fruity kick to the fish, will combine with the flaky fish flesh and mashed potato to add a luxurious, silky texture, and of course the shiny gloss of the olive oil just brings the presentation of all elements on the plate together.

Chocolate Mousse with Orange Segments

Your favourite rich chocolate mousse served alongside fresh, juicy orange segments, finished with a generous drizzle of olive oil.

Olive oil and chocolate are friends, because they are rich and complement each others flavours. Olive oil and oranges are also friends, because of the balance that olive oil brings to citrus acidity. So olive oil, chocolate and citrus are a match made in heaven when it comes to flavour. The olive oil adds luxurious thickness to the mousse and helps to connect the texture of the orange segments to the silky mousse. Of course, presentation is key – without the final drizzle of olive oil it would just look like a scoop of mousse with a side of fruit!

Thick Tomato Soup with a Cream and Olive Oil Swirl

This would work with any thick soup, so pick your favourite. A thick tomato soup with a swirl of cream just loves a final drizzle of olive oil.

In this soup, olive oil adds depth of flavour to the tomato soup, it helps create a smooth texture in every bite, and just brings a shine to the presentation. Have fun with the swirls on each plate – its your work of art!

Sage

Whipped Tofu with Roasted Tomato

Quick and easy: Light, airy whipped tofu paired with roasted tomatoes, finished with a drizzle of olive oil.

Tofu has never been more flavourful after its been hit with a drizzle of fruity, peppery olive oil! Experience the play between the acidic and sweet roasted tomatoes and the depth of the olive oil and enjoy the thick, silky mouthfeel the olive oil adds to this dishes texture. Of course, presentation is the first encounter with this dish and the olive oil here has turned monotone tomato on a white background into a work of art with swirls, pools and droplets.

Steak

No recipe needed for this: It’s just your favourite, seared steak made even juicier and more flavourful with a drizzle of olive oil.

Olive oil adds important flavour to grilled meat, helping to bring out the sweetness of the meat, while balancing out the bitterness of the char from grilling. And while meat can be lean and have a slightly dry mouthfeel, olive oil will save the day by adding back in juicy texture and creating a luxurious bite. As for presentation – drizzle the oil and you will see this dish shine like never before!

Tom Walton

Smoky Charred Green Beans and Spring Broccoli with White Bean Dip

You’ve been asked to bring a side-dish, so what can you wip up that is more than just a few veg? Charred green beans and spring broccoli (or whatever veg you prefer) served on a base of a creamy white bean dip, finished with a drizzle of olive oil.

The fruity and peppery flavours of olive oil will freshen up this dish and play with the juicy flavours of each bit of green beans. The challenge with charring vegetables is that they can become dry on the outside and less appetising when it comes to mouthfeel, so let the drizzle of olive oil add back moisture and silky texture. From a presentation perspective, the final drizzle provides a visual bridge between the veg and the white dip as a third, interspersed colour to this dish, adds shine makes sure that the veg looks fresh and juicy.

Gourmeg

Open Burrata with Dukkah & Lemon Zest

Don’t have a dip ready? Here is an unforgettable alternative. Open a creamy burrata across a plate, top it with crunchy dukkah and bright lemon zest and finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Substitute any other spreadable or dippable fresh cheese to your taste – goat cheese, stracciatella, feta... enjoy the experimentation!

Olive Oil and cheese are a known partners in flavour and texture – rich, creamy flavours can be found in the cheese, but olive oil adds a little kick, a dash of freshness and a lift in overall flavour complexity, while helping the mouthfeel become even more three-dimensional. And there is nothing more attractive in presenting a dish like this than the droplets and rivers of golden olive oil running throughout and around the creamy white of the cheese.

Darren Robertson

Ricotta and Peaches

This one risks being too easy – a bed of creamy ricotta paired with fresh peach segments and a some young basil leaves. A little plain? Not if it is finished with a drizzle of olive oil.

You can play around with the cheese type, or some other cream or yoghurt base, and you can experiment with different fruits, but the role of the drizzle in this type of dish is clear. It connects the textures of water-based fruit to the creamy base, it adds depth and complexity to the flavour pairing (and a little kick if you have a peppery olive oil), and the final drizzle visually lifts presentation to make this look more like a professional dish and less like fruit on a white back ground.

Charred Roasted Cauliflower with Pomegranate and Pickled Shallots

Amaze your guests with this WOW dish! Smoky roasted cauliflower tossed with pomegranate seeds and pickled shallots, finished with olive oil.

Charred cauliflower is something people talk about, but the charred edges can be dry and even a little bitter. The drizzle of olive oil in this dish adds back moisture and glossy texture to the cauliflower and balances the earthy tones of the char and the cauliflower itself with a burst of fruity flavour. That final drizzle transforms the presentation of this dish from veg on a plate to a centre-of-table masterpiece

Herby Hummus

Hummus blended with fresh herbs, topped with a drizzle of olive oil.

If you just add herbs to a hummus, you might end up with something that has a dry mouthfeel an uncertain flavour of chickpeas interrupted by random bursts of herb flavour. A little flat on its own? Once you drizzle olive oil on this, the oil will infuse with the flavour of herbs and connects them to the overall flavour of the dish, adding also the oil’s own fruitiness as another dimension. The drizzle will add back moisture and silkiness to the otherwise dry texture and of course the swirls and pools of oil just make the presentation of this dish perfect!

Vanilla Ice Cream with Grated Chocolate

So easy!! Creamy vanilla ice cream topped with grated chocolate and a drizzle of olive oil.

By itself, vanilla ice-cream and chocolate is sweet, but really a one-note dish. After a drizzle of olive oil, it turns into something more savoury with more complex flavours, adds textural warmth to offset the icy cold shock and elevates presentation to make this dish so much more interesting to serve up.

Chimichurri Roast Chicken

We aren’t going to teach you how to roast a chicken, but we are going to tell you to serve it with chimichurri and an extra drizzle of olive oil!

The best roast chicken is moist and flavourful, but we all know that chicken can be a little dry, lifeless and lacking in mono-flavoured. Adding a drizzle of olive oil, with some herbed-up chimichurri, adds back moisture and silkiness, it carries the flavour of the chimichurri herbs and chilli across every mouthful of chicken while adding its own fruitiness and pepper kick, and finally it just brings life and shine to the presentation of this oven-roasted masterpiece.

Roasted Carrots with Grated Manchego

Don’t let carrots be a lonely side dish! Sweet, roasted carrots sprinkled with grated Manchego cheese and drizzled with olive oil will amaze.

Alone, roasted carrots are sweet and juicy, but can look a little dry and shrivelled on the outside. Grated manchego cheese brings saltiness and visual interest to the dish, but it isn’t complete without the drizzle of olive oil. Complement the sweetness of carrots with the slightly bitter and peppery savoury flavours of olive oil, moisten up the texture of the first bite add glossy shine that gives the luxury presentation this dish deserves.