You are all aware of my affinity for non-recipes. You know, the whole smoke-and-mirrors thing that makes it seem like you are putting a lot of effort into something, when really, it’s mostly just a bit of chopping and a hefty dose of styling?
Well, here we go again.
This time I can’t even take any credit for it. We were in Tuscany last week and I had lunch at a new restaurant, Dopolavoro. I’ll be writing it up elsewhere later on, but I couldn’t resist sharing their too-cute-for-words version of pinzimonio.
Pinzimonio, if you’ve never heard the word, is Tuscan for ‘raw vegetables dipped in olive oil.’ A non recipe if I’ve ever heard one. The trick, of course, is garden fresh veggies, and fruity olive oil. There are even ceramic pinzimonio sets that consist of a large bowl to hold the vegetables, and smaller, individual bowls to use for dipping. (yes, I have three sets, ceramic addict that I am)
But at Dopolavaro, where everything is new and crisp and clean, they’ve jumped on the whole glass jar vogue and served chopped veggies, ready-dipped, in cute little glass containers.
Brilliant, right?
First course plus centerpiece. This has my name written all over it. 
Hello Elizabeth:
This sounds to be exactly our kind of thing – simple to prepare and very stylish. Whilst in Tuscany last week we were struck by the quantities of wonderful fresh vegetables and fruit. Delicious, especially the tomatoes!
Ha, yes, the non recipes – I get mad when people try to pass them AS a recipe 🙂 this, however, looks tasty and awesome.
and using my olive oil dipping dish for that! 🙂
In fact, my other favorite way to serve olive oil!
Love the presentation – can’t wait to try it on my table.
Sorry I don’t get this-
One of my favorite snacks! My dad used to make that for me when I was a little girl (one of many tricks in an attempt to get me to eat my vegetables). What a simple way to make an old canning jar look stunning. Of course, Italian produce makes everything look sexy.
Sooooo brilliant!
Goodness i must try…esp in the hot summer months…sthing similar is servd at the Chateau Marmont…but steamed veggies beautifully
presented…
My husband loves to eat vegetables dipped in oil like that, but I have to confess is the first time I ever heard that name (pinzimonio), you know, is like eating “bruschetta aglio e olio” in Rome and then eating “fettunta” in Tuscany 🙂
I’ve got the vegetables but need to go back to the farmers market near Circo Massimo for the best, most fruity olive oil I’ve ever tasted. We brought some home but it didn’t last long …
I think I’m going to need a diet like this to improve my sleep debt problems. A day without a sleep makes me sick..