Oil dipping appetizer for bread is the perfect addition to any pasta meal. It is advisable to adjust all seasonings to your taste. Serve with Italian flat bread, soft Italian bread sticks, or even a fresh baked French bread loaf. For oil dipping, soft bread is ideal, although some oil dipping variations encourage toasting the bread before using. When red ripe tomatoes are in season, add chopped or fresh sliced tomatoes to your oil dipping appetizer. The same goes with fresh basil leaves torn into small pieces and added to the oil dipping mixture.

Oil Dipping Variations

Ingredients 
1 Tablespoon garlic clove, peeled and pressed through a garlic press 
1 tsp fresh Basil leaves
1 tsp Rosemary dried
1 tsp Oregano dried
1 1/2 Tablespoon Parsley dried
Sea salt 
Dash of black peppercorns fresh ground 
Add crushed red pepper to taste

Directions 
Whisk together all ingredients completely. Place a teaspoon on a small dipping dish, drizzle well with gourmet quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Taste with an Italian bread slice, you may want to adjust the seasonings to your own palate. To serve, place a teaspoon of the mixture on a dipping dish, add the oil and blended herbs when dipping with bread. Add additional oil until herbs on plate are consumed.

Oil Dipping Recipe

Ingredients
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, wash, pat dry leaves, then chop 
4 cloves garlic cloves, peeled and pressed through a garlic press 
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions
Pour olive oil into a dipping dish. Add chopped basil leaves, crushed garlic and ground pepper.  Whisk together evenly. Serve with fresh baked warm Italian bread. Use quality ingredients for best results, especially extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil and garlic. Add additional garlic for those who are garlic lovers.

Oil Dipping with Italian Bread

Ingredients 
2 Tablespoons Cruets Gourmet Italian Bread Dipping Herbs and Spices 
Grated Parmesan cheese, to taste 
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions 
Place 2 T, Cruets Gourmet Italian Bread Dipping Herbs and Spices in dipping dish. Add water to cover the herbs. Let stand for 10 minutes. Drain Herbs. Pour olive oil over spices to cover. Stir to blend. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese over the herbs and spices. Serve as a dipping sauce with your favorite crusty bread. Makes 2 servings

Variation: add a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar, add small torn pieces of fresh basil leaves

oil dipping, oil dipping recipe, oil dipping sauce, oil dipping bread 

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Mediterranean-style salad

Ingredients

1 can artichoke hearts (15 ounces)
1 can white beans (15 ounces)
¼ to 1/3 cup of red onion, thinly chopped
1 cup red peppers, roasted and chopped
½ to ¾ cup fresh mint, chopped
Red pepper flakes
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Fresh squeezed Lemon juice
About 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Method:
Open and drain each can. Rinse the white beans and artichokes by placing it under running water. Using a cutting board, chop the hearts into quarters. Set aside. Chop the red peppers. Dice the red onion very finely. If you are using fresh mint, take a handful and chop it. Mix all of these into a mixing bowl. Add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Cut the lemon into half and add the juice of one half into the bowl.Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for some spiciness. Stir all ingredients together. Before serving, add some crumbled feta cheese. You may wish to add some kalamata olives, pitted and sliced.

Mediterranean salad

Technorati Tags: Mediterranean salad