A Crushed Olive Dip to Make All Summer Long
Plus: Naked pizza for all of your summer dipping needs
Hello Pizza Friends,
On this pizza-adjacent week, I have two things to share with you: a crushed olive dip I hope you make immediately and a naked pizza to serve alongside.
The dip recipe comes from Sara Forte’s Around Our Table, and I made it the day the book arrived, the photo of coarsely chopped olives tangled with herbs and pine nuts heaped atop a platter of whipped feta too enticing to wait a moment longer.
I’ve made it several times since, and while the reason for this is obvious — it’s delicious — I think it’s also because I find it so versatile. Of course, it’s a great starter, but it also seems to complement whatever it finds itself beside: grilled chicken, oven fries, roasted cauliflower, etc.
Last Sunday evening, I cooked a few fillets of barramundi in our pizza oven. [Sidebar: This is a great simple method: Season fish with salt and pepper, then smear with a very thin layer of mayonnaise… sounds gross but it doesn’t tasty mayonnaise-y at all, and it browns beautifully.]
Anyway, I had made the dip again, and the little that remained once dinner had materialized transitioned to the table so nicely, the briny, lemony, herby medley a perfect match for the mild fish.
To serve with the dip, I baked a few “naked” pizzas: dough drizzled with olive oil and sea salt — that’s all. This is something you can do at the end of a pizza-making evening should you find yourself with extra rounds of dough but no more need for pizza. They reheat and freeze well.
Or you can do this when you need something blistered and bubbly, ready to be torn to pieces and dragged through creamy swirls, something that excels at collecting every delicious morsel in its path. Find the recipe and a video below.
PS: of Buona Domenica recently made the Sicilian Veggie Loaded Pizza from Pizza Night, and it looks fantastic. I love Domenica’s cooking, and one of the pizza recipes in Pizza Night (page 135) is inspired by a suggestion she made in response to a call for help regarding broccoli rabe: Domenica wrote: “Very good strewn on pizza with smoked mozzarella.” She was right!
Video: Crushed Olive Dip + Naked Pizza
The Recipe: Crushed Olive Dip with Whipped Yogurt (or feta or ricotta)
Gather your dip-topper ingredients: olives, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, mint, lemon, garlic, pine nuts, and crushed red pepper flakes. You’ll need some olive oil, too.
Pit the olives, if they aren’t already, then coarsely chop them along with the sun-dried tomatoes.
Place them in a bowl with the minced herbs and garlic, lemon zest and some fresh lemon juice, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and a drizzle of olive oil.
Toss to combine then adjust with more olive oil or lemon to taste.
Meanwhile, whip up your dairy of choice. The original recipe calls for a mix of feta and yogurt, which you blend together in the food processor with garlic and pepper. I’ve made it that way, and it’s delicious, and I also think ricotta would work well in place of the feta. For ease, I like to make it with 100% Greek yogurt, which I whisk together with fresh lemon juice and salt.
Smear the lemony yogurt sauce over a platter…
Cook some pizza dough drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt in your oven of choice…
Then spoon the olive topping over the yogurt, and serve it alongside your warm bread.
Heaven! As summer progresses, I’d consider swapping in fresh tomatoes for the sundried, though I’m afraid to make any changes because it’s so perfect as is.
Love Pizza? Find recipes, tips, and tricks in Pizza Night 🍕🍕🥗🥗
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Hello and thank you for the kind mention! The dip looks fantastic and right up my alley with all those assertive flavors plus the cool contrast of the yogurt. Must try.
Ooooh! Crushed olive dip would also pair nicely with a fresh sheet of herbed focaccia bread. Yum!