It really doesn’t get much simpler than this! Take the freshest vegetables you can find and arrange them on a platter with a bowl of really good olive oil and another bowl of sea salt. Let guests dip, sprinkle, and nibble to their heart’s content. You won’t believe how ridiculously tasty this is.
When you’re buying vegetables fresh from the farmers market or picking them straight from your own garden, their flavors are so vibrant that they usually don’t need much in the way of enhancement. That’s the idea behind this Italian-style crudité platter, properly called “Pinzimonio.” It’s simply a way to enjoy the flavors of the season just as they are.
Think about tiny heirloom carrots, wedges of tomato, spicy radishes, raw spears of zucchini, and florets of cauliflower. These can be grouped together on a pretty tray and served just as they are. A few vegetables, like green beans and asparagus, benefit from a quick blanch in boiling water to make them palatable and perk up their color.
This is definitely the time to bring out the really good bottle of extra-virgin olive oil you’ve been saving. We love the way the aromatic olive oil perfumes the air and hits our tongue just a second before we bite into the vegetable.
For more ideas, check out this recipe for Pinzimonio from Martha Stewart. She even takes things one step further by mixing fresh herbs with the sea salt!
Related: Entertaining: How Much to Serve at a Cocktail Party
(Image: Martha Stewart)
Why I Became a 1-Gallon Homebrewer
True Greek Recipe: Paximadi Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Monterey Pitcher fr...
Weekend DIYs: 10 Wood Molding Projects for the Home
Monica & Austin's Charming Bungalow
Yes, good piece. I find that most things benefit fro a quick blanch even if you just put them in a strainer and give them a quick dunk in boiling water. For example radishes. This is also a food safety step as it gives another defense against any pathogens that may be lingering on the surface. Also Radishes that are quickies blanched ace a nice bite-ability.
Sounds messy! I guess you would want your guests to sit, while you are serving this! Plus, the chunks would have to be really small... unless you want your guests to double-dip!
Yum, isn't it amazing how tasty fresh produce is? (Another reason to shop locally.)
We did this every night at dinner when I was an exchange student in Tuscany! Each of us got our own little cup of olive oil, into which we would grind salt and pepper, and then dip veggies. I learned to love raw sweet peppers this way.
Ooo what a fabulous way to make use of the CSA!
Becca