Herb Seasoning for Olive Oil Dipping

Fall is in the air.  I just love this time of year.  Days are still warm but the nights are starting to cool off.  I was on the deck the other night watering plants and three different flocks of geese flew over.  And I’m not talking a few geese either – there had to have been 30 – 50 geese in each flock.  This is a signal to me to start baking.    Yesterday I posted my recipe for focaccia bread and told you I would be posting the herb seasoning for olive oil today.  So here it is.  By the way – the house smells wonderful.  Full of the scent of fresh-baked bread and fresh herbs.  Hmmmm!  What a wonderful, homey fragrance!!

Herb Seasoning for Olive Oil

4 T chopped flat leaf parsley

3 cloves garlic

2 T fresh thyme

4 T chopped basil

1 T fresh rosemary

2 t fresh oregano

1 dried red pepper (hot)

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.

Prep everything and chop it in a food chopper or an electric mini prep (small food processor).  Make sure everything is well chopped.  You want the herbs to dry at a similar rate.  Take a sniff of the chopped herbs and make sure you are pleased with the aroma.  Adjust by adding what you would like more prominent but be aware – rosemary, oregano, and garlic can quickly overpower other herbs so use those sparingly.

Spread on a small baking sheet and place in the pre-heated oven.  Lower the temp. to 250 degrees F. and allow to dry for about 45 – 60 minutes.  You are not baking the herbs, just drying them.

Remove from the oven and cool completely.  Scrape the dried herbs off the baking sheet with a bench scraper and store in a small jar.

When ready to use, take a small amount of the herb mix and place in a small bowl.  Drizzle olive oil over the herbs and serve with freshly baked bread.

NOTE:  You can also use the dried herbs in your bread dough; season mashed potatoes or on top of baked potatoes; in rice; sprinkled on chicken for roasting, etc.