Make your own herbed olive oil with pro tips from Outstanding in the Field

“Farm-to-table” is a household word at this point, a concept that may seem overplayed at times. But in 1999, when chef and artist Jim Denevan launched Outstanding in the Field, the legendary alfresco culinary roadshow, the idea of connecting the food on your plate to the place where it originated wasn’t a thing yet.

What began as a single event held on a small farm eventually grew to include alfresco feasts in all 50 states and 16 countries around the world. The pandemic forced a hiatus, of course. But this summer, Denevan and his team hit the road once again, beginning with a Secret Sea Cove dinner with a fleet of guest chefs, food artisans, farmers, winemakers, brewers, cheesemakers and more.

The Secret Sea Cove dinner — locations are kept under wraps until the eleventh hour — was held on the sands of San Gregorio Beach in San Mateo County, with guest chef Alex Hong from San Francisco’s Michelin-starred Sorrel restaurant serving up a superb menu. Next month’s feasts at Big Sur, in Half Moon Bay and Sausalito are already sold out, but tickets for the winter season, which includes dinners in Palm Springs, Malibu and Carpenteria, as well as Oaxaca and Mexico City, go on sale Nov. 1 at https://outstandinginthefield.com.

The vistas are grand and the menus incredible at these events, but sometimes the simplest things are the most memorable. This herb olive oil, served with sourdough focaccia bread on San Gregorio Beach, is a case in point. If you don’t have bread, you’ll probably want to just spoon it over anything on hand.

It’s a simple dipping sauce that you can make at home, too. A few pro tips from that Outstanding in the Field dinner: Sicilian extra-virgin olive oil has more fruity, intense characteristics. Use fresh herbs, not dried. And if you can’t find fresh chervil, which is also called French parsley, use double the amount of flat leaf Italian parsley.

Here’s how it’s done:

Herb Olive Oil

Makes about 1 cup

INGREDIENTS

1 cup olive oil

1 large clove garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage

1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon chopped fresh chervil

1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Place all the ingredients into the pitcher of a blender (or in a glass mason jar, if you will be using an immersion blender) and puree on high speed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve as a dipping sauce for bread.

— Adapted from a recipe by chef Alex Hong, Sorrel restaurant, Outstanding in the Field