Olive Oil Dip

I know there are a bunch of Pittsburghers reading this who probably have not been exposed to the wonder and glory that is Carraba's Italian Grill, which, in the words of some guy I used to know, "makes Olive Garden look like a Denny's." If I have to eat Italian food at a chain restaurant, I'll take Carraba's over anything. All this background info to tell you that they make an olive oil bread dip that could bring peace to the Middle East.


And I, my friends, have figured it out. Next time you want to impress your husband, or your wife, or your boyfriend, or your tax auditor, or a Palestinian diplomat, this is the stuff. It's that good.

Anyway, on with the show. First, the cast of characters:

That's parsley, basil, rosemary, oregano, mint leaves, red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, minced garlic, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and some kind of crusty bread. Now, I'm sure that this is better with fresh herbs, but who keeps that stuff laying around? Most people already have the essentials in their spice cupboard, and it's plenty good that way. If you have kosher salt laying around, that's a little better; I didn't have any, so I roughed it with good ol' table salt.


First I add the herbs. This is about how much parsley I use:

I guess it's around a Tablespoon, but it really doesn't matter. I roll it between my fingers (well, usually my palms, but the other hand was busy with the camera) as I add it to the bowl so that there aren't huge-ass chunks of anything at the end.

Then add about the same amount of basil, rosemary, and oregano.



We use less of the mint, red pepper, black pepper, and salt. This is how much mint I put in ... about half as much as the parsley.

Now put in equal amounts of the red pepper, black pepper, and salt. It doesn't have to be exact.


Awesome, now you've combined all the dry ingredients! If you're one of those people that likes to clean up as you go along, try to resist the impulse to put the herbs away. Aspire to my level of procrastination ... it will serve you well in this endeavor. Anyway, give the bowl a shake until all of your ingredients are well mixed.

Gorgeous. Now add the garlic. About the same amount as the parsley/basil/oregano.

Give it a quick mix.

Now add in a little splash of lemon juice. I don't usually measure this out, but just for you guys, this is about how much I use (using an iced tea spoon here):

Mix er on up. It should be looking pretty skanky right now. You might be looking at it and thinking I'm out of my freakin' mind. Have faith -- this is what it should look like at this stage.

Now add in the EVOO.

In the words of Uncle Jesse, Have mercy! See that gorgeous ambery color? THAT is what good olive oil looks like. Add enough for it to cover the herbs, and then mix it up.

Hello, lover.

Now, slice off some of your crusty bread. Or rip off a hunk if are too impatient. Etiquette, shmetiquette -- if it was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me. Anyway, dip the bread in the olive oil and take a moment to think about how sexy it is.

Now take a bite. Go ahead and let out a little pleasure moan, I won't judge you. If you think it needs a little more of something, then go ahead and tinker. I'm a basil and rosemary fiend and usually add a little more of both at this point. After you've reached perfection, go ahead and set out the bowl with the cut (or ripped) up crusty bread, and await the adulation you are sure to receive.


Bon Apetit!