Make your own custom herb mix for dipping oil.
Skip the vegetables and dip for your next festive gathering and serve a trendy and tasty new appetizer, dipping oil. Mix a heart-healthy premium olive oil with a custom blend of herbs and spices. Allow your guests to dip chunks of rustic bread into the oil. The herb-laden oil will give the bread a bruschetta-like flavor, making it a suitable beginning to an Italian meal or something light like a dinner salad or pasta salad.
Instructions
1. Purchase a good extra-virgin olive oil. Better oils have the best flavor for dipping and are more suitable for eating directly on bread.
2. Stir together a mixture of herbs and spices according to your taste buds. Begin with a simple variety of Italian seasonings, then add flavor components like Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes or chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
3. Pour 1 cup of olive oil into a bowl and mix in 1/4 cup of the herb mixture. Stir the seasoned oil and let it sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes, to let the flavors of the herbs infuse the oil. Heat the oil in a microwave for 10 seconds to quicken this process.
4. Cut crusty bread into rough chunks and pile them into a serving bowl or plate. Place the bowl of herbed oil next to the bread platter. Pile individual saucers or small bowls next to the oil bowl. Place a ladle into the oil bowl.
5. Stir the herbs and oil together and pour a small spoonful onto a saucer. Add some bread chunks to the saucer and serve the plate to your first guest.
Tags: bread into, herbs spices, into bowl
