Italian restaurants make you believe there’s a secret behind that little bowl of oil that comes with the bread — there isn’t. What makes the difference is the quality of the oil and twenty minutes of patience to let the aromas blend together. It’s exactly the kind of thing to prepare on a Saturday afternoon, without a watch, while the oven preheats.
In a wide, shallow dish, the olive oil takes on a deep golden hue where green parsley flecks and garlic bits that have had time to release their pungency into the fat float. The smell is herbaceous and slightly vinegary, with that characteristic peppery background of a good extra virgin oil. When you dip a piece of still-warm baguette into it, the crumb drinks the oil in seconds, catching the herbs and salt crystals along the way. Simple, but it’s precisely this kind of simplicity that leaves a mark.
