Pinzimonio

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Sharp knife for cutting vegetables
• •Small individual dipping bowls (one per person)
• •Large platter or wooden board for vegetables

Instructions

1. 1

   Select your olive oil

   This entire dish depends on the quality of one ingredient. Your olive oil must be exceptional. Look for Tuscan oil with grassy, peppery notes and a golden-green color. Taste it before you serve it. If it tastes flat, stale, or like nothing at all, do not proceed. The oil is the dish.

   Pour a small amount of oil into a glass and warm it in your palm. Good oil should smell of fresh grass, artichoke, or green tomato. It should finish with a pleasant pepperiness at the back of the throat. If it smells like crayons or tastes greasy, it has gone rancid.
2. 2

   Prepare the vegetables

   Wash all vegetables thoroughly and dry them completely. Wet vegetables will not hold the oil. Cut everything into pieces that can be grasped easily and dipped without dripping. The celery should include some tender inner leaves. The fennel should be sliced through the core so the wedges hold together. Radishes may be left whole if small.

3. 3

   Handle the artichokes

   If using artichokes, work quickly. Pull away the tough outer leaves until you reach the pale yellow-green heart. Trim the stem, cut away the fuzzy choke, and rub immediately with lemon to prevent browning. Quarter each heart. Raw baby artichokes are traditional in Tuscany during spring. If unavailable, omit them entirely rather than substitute.

   Only the smallest, youngest artichokes can be eaten raw. If yours are larger than a lemon, they will be too tough and bitter. In this case, leave them out.
4. 4

   Compose the dipping sauce

   Pour the olive oil into individual small bowls, one for each person. Add a generous pinch of flaky sea salt and several grinds of black pepper to each bowl. Do not stir. The salt will rest at the bottom, the pepper will float. Each dip will carry a slightly different amount of seasoning. This is correct.

5. 5

   Arrange and serve

   Arrange the vegetables on a large platter or wooden board. Place them loosely, not in rigid lines. Set a bowl of seasoned oil before each guest. There are no rules for eating pinzimonio. Dip, bite, enjoy. The vegetables should be cold or at cool room temperature. The oil should be at room temperature, never refrigerated.

Chef Tips

• •The vegetables suggested here are traditional, but you should follow the seasons. In spring, add raw fava beans still in their tender inner skins. In summer, use young zucchini. In autumn, try raw porcini mushrooms sliced thin. Whatever is freshest and firmest.
• •Each person receives their own bowl of oil. This is not communal dipping. The oil becomes seasoned differently as you eat, and you control how much salt reaches each bite.
• •Serve pinzimonio as a first course or alongside aperitivi. It is not a side dish. It demands attention.
• •If your oil is not exceptional, do not make this dish. Serve something else. There is no shame in waiting until you find proper oil.

Advance Preparation

• •Vegetables can be cut up to four hours ahead and stored in cold water in the refrigerator. Drain and dry completely before serving.
• •Artichokes must be prepared just before serving to prevent browning, or held in lemon water for no more than one hour.
• •The oil should never be seasoned in advance. The salt dissolves and the pepper loses its punch. Season each bowl at the moment of serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)