Pinzimonio di verdure is a light, fresh and very healthy appetizer (or side dish) that consists of a mixture of raw vegetables cut into sticks or pieces to be dipped in a condiment (pinzimonio) made with oil and salt to which pepper, lemon juice or vinegar can be added; the condiment is beaten with a fork to form an emulsion.
INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE:
- 2 celery
- 2 carrots
- 1 fennel
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 red pepper
- 1 radicchio trevisano small
- 12 radishes
- Olio di Butera extra virgin olive oil q.b.
- Lemon juice q.b.
- Black pepper q.b.
PREPARATION:
- Choose two soft celery stalks (the ones inside the celery bundle) remove the leaves placed on the ends, eliminate any filaments by nick the base of each rib with a knife and pulling towards the opposite end. Cut the stalks in two parts of equal length and then cut the sticks by cutting the pieces obtained in the direction of the length.
- Take the fennel, remove the ends with the small leaves and then the opposite one; remove the fleshy outer leaves and then cut the fennel in four equal parts that you will reduce in half.
- Take the half peppers, remove the filaments and the internal white parts, trim the ends to make them regular, then cut the peppers into strips. Remove the leaves from the radishes by cutting them at the base and wash them under running water.
- Peel the carrots, trim them and cut them into parallel slices that you will then divide into sticks. Remove the damaged outer leaves of the radicchio and keep the fresh and intact leaves off its base. Divide the cut vegetables into small glasses and prepare 4 small bowls containing top quality extra virgin olive oil. Place at the center of the table the additional seasonings that will be used to enrich the pinzimonio and let each diner prepare it according to their own tastes. To prepare the pinzimonio, simply mix together oil, lemon, salt and pepper in a bowl and beat vigorously with a fork to emulsify it all. Serve your vegetable sticks with the sauce.
The vegetable dip must be made using very fresh and tender vegetables; the seasoning can also be enriched according to personal taste with lemon, vinegar, pepper, mustard, aromatic herbs (thyme, basil, chives, parsley), chilli pepper, yoghurt, etc…