Hot Honey Oil Yogurt Dip

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gray bowl with yogurt topped with hot oil, parsley, chopped garlic, red pepper flakes, honey, next to sliced french bread baguette

Earlier in November, my friends from Boston who moved to Seattle visited me in Los Angeles. I know, that was a lot of cities thrown out in one sentence, but context. They arrived to my apartment after I had a long work day, but I wanted to greet them nonetheless.

We ordered sushi for delivery, but while we were waiting, I wanted to open up a bottle of this Georgian orange wine I picked up from this natural wine shop in Los Feliz, and figured I’d make a quick snack. Unfortunately with it being Friday, and a busy work week, I didn’t have much time to go grocery shopping to prepare for the arrival of my friends. What I had on-hand was some parsley that was starting to wilt, greek yogurt (which is shared between my dog Kimchi and me on a daily basis), and lots and lots of garlic. I had a baguette that was starting to stale, so I figured I’d make a dip of sorts to hold us (mostly me) over.

I don’t have a fancy name for this dip. But hot oils, they’ve become somewhat of a trend even though it is something I grew up with, and the yogurt dip - well, it wasn’t as refreshing as a tzatziki necessarily, but I knew yogurts could make for a creamy dip without the need for added cheese. I’m a glutton for savory flavors, and if you ask my friends, they know that garlic is really all I need to help bolster the aromatics. What turned out as an impromptu snack with wine turned into a favorite with my friends, and now I can’t help but make it for myself and the other rare time I host people during this pandemmy lifestyle of ours.

gray bowl with yogurt topped with chopped garlic, parsley, red pepper flakes, next to assortment of vegetables such a cauliflower, sweet snap peas, radishes, bell peppers

Hot Honey Oil Yogurt Dip

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Yield: 2 Servings

Ingredients:

  • 1/8 cup neutral oil (eg. sunflower oil, canola oil)

  • 4-5 tbsp unflavored Greek Yogurt

  • 3-4 cloves garlic

  • 1/2 bunch fresh chopped parsley

  • 2 tbsp chili pepper flakes

  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper

  • 1 tsp paprika

  • 2 tsp honey

  • salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

  1. In a pot, heat neutral oil until hot (test: I take a wooden chopstick and when I stick it in bottom of the pot, if I see the oil beginning to bubble, I know my oil is ready)

  2. Finely chop parsley and garlic

  3. In a heat-safe bowl (I like to use a stone pot), add parsley, garlic, pepper flakes, cayenne, paprika, salt and pepper, and drizzle of honey

  4. Once oil is hot, pour over ingredients in bowl from step 3. Let cool lightly (but not trying to have hot hot oil in your mouth)

  5. In a separate bowl, add Greek Yogurt. Drizzle hot oil over yogurt. Optional, top with a fresh honey drizzle

  6. Serve with vegetables or bread for dipping