Is tapenade the perfect nibble to serve with late summer drinks, or a waste of good olives And does tuna have any place in the recipe One of over 3,500 exclusive Benjamin Moore colors. Olive tapenade is delicious, easy to make and can be used as a dip, sandwich spread or topping for fish and poultry. Make a batch to keep in the refrigerator for. Gourmet Tapenades The Olive Taps incredible menu of MediterraneanStyle spreads, tapenades, and toppings make you Hors dOeuvrers second to none Here is a tapenade recipe that you can use to make either black or green olive tapenade, a popular appetizer spread from the south of France. Tapenade Recipe Chowhound. Tapenade, an intensely flavored pure of black olives, anchovies, and seasonings, pairs well with meat, especially beef and lamb. It adds a deep, rich, slightly pungent flavor, and is wonderful to have on hand to put on sandwiches, pair with charcuterie plates, or use as a dip. How to make the perfect tapenade Life and style. While there is still a little light left in the evenings, its only right and proper to embrace every last opportunity to sit out a while with a well chilled drink heaven knows there will be time enough to huddle round the fire with a warming cup of tea once autumn girds its loins in earnest. How Big Is A Clove Of Garlic here. And, just as tea needs biscuits, a stiff drink demands nibbles. Roasted nuts are always a winner, of course, and an offensively cheesy crisp rarely fails to please, but to really string out that holiday feeling, you cant get much more Mediterranean than tapenade. This Provenal favourite is the perfect drinking companion, as its a combination of the saltiest ingredients you could imagine great with a delicate, pale pink local ros, yes, but also an unimpeachable pairing with a gin and tonic or, of course, a pastis. Though the principal ingredient is olives, the French word comes from the Provenal name for caper buds, tapeno. Define tapenade. tapenade synonyms, tapenade pronunciation, tapenade translation, English dictionary definition of tapenade. A spread of Provenal origin. The Best Olive Tapenade Appetizer Recipes on Yummly Mixedolive Tapenade, Kalamata Olive Tapenade, Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade. The story goes that, in ancient times, these would have been preserved in amphoras of olive oil, to re emerge, when required, as a pungent mush the origins of the modern tapenade. This is why, perhaps, the authors of the book Provence Cookery School inform their readers that, though everybody thinks of it as an olive dip, tapenade is in fact a caper sauce. Call it what you like, I say, as long you make it right. The olives Caroline Conrans tapenade. Traditionally, tapenade is made from the small, black olives beloved of the region, though, as Caroline Conran notes in her Sud de France, nowadays, they also sell green tapenade in the local markets, as well as versions made with dried tomatoes and basil. Tapenade OlivesAs I prefer the fruitier, earthier flavour of the black olive green tapenade having a tendency towards astringency in my view, Ill be keeping things strictly traditional. Im surprised at how many recipes simply call for black olives Conran, Elizabeth David, Provence Cookery School, Im looking at you. If you happen to live in Provence and frequent local markets, then no doubt youll end up with some top quality fruit. If, however, youre browsing a British supermarket or, indeed, a French one, then the generic black olive will be a rubbery, bland thing not fit to grace this, the most punchy of sauces. Master. Chefs John Torode and Margot Henderson, proprietor of the Rochelle Canteen and author of Youre All Invited, both specify kalamata olives, while Richard Olney hopes for nioise if available in the French Menu Cookbook. Both yield a far superior, more complex flavour, especially if you buy them whole. It is an inconvenient truth that pitted olives have also been neutered in the flavour department. Really, its only a matter of five minutes work with a sharp knife to remove the stones or considerably less if you have the appropriate gadget. Anyone who boasted of cherry pitters underneath last weeks piece on clafoutis should put them to work here, too. Capers Provence Cookery Schools tapenade. Capers are obviously a shoo in the sort packed in salt are preferable if you can get hold of them specialist grocers are a better bet than supermarkets. Tapenade' title='Tapenade' />Some recipes, including Olneys, tend towards the mean, using just one teaspoon to 1. Ive gone with the more generous quantities suggested by the Provence Cookery School recipe. Anchovies and other fish Elizabeth Davids tapenade. Just in case you thought there wasnt enough salt in the recipe, anchovies are also a must, though I think Conrans six fillets excessive this shouldnt be a dip that tastes primarily of fish. On that basis, Im also going to exclude Davids tuna a common addition, according to Larousse Gastronomique, but one which completely changes the character of the dish, muting the punchy flavours of the other ingredients to create a mellow fish paste. Herbs and garlic Margot Hendersons tapenade. Henderson and Torode put flat leaf parsley in their tapenades which, although often used in southern French cooking, doesnt taste as satisfyingly sun baked as Conran and Patricia Wells thyme, with its nostalgic whiff of garrigues roasting in the summer heat. Hendersons oregano, meanwhile, is too reminiscent of pizzas for my liking Provence may once have stretched into modern day Italy, but these days pasta is considered pretty exotic, in my experience. Garlic is, according to the Provence Cookery School, an optional extra. I think it brings a welcome heat, but dont overdo it similarly to anchovies, it has a tendency to take over, making it the dominant flavour in Conrans tapenade. Extras. Surprisingly, the same goes for the Cookery Schools lemon zest though juice adds a welcome acidity to the tapenade, the zest makes things too fresh and citrussy, when they ought to be dark and sophisticated. Conrans Dijon mustard, though a common addition, isnt to my taste either it muddies the Mediterranean flavours, while Torode and Olneys brandy just tastes bizarre. It may make it into the Larousse entry on the subject, but I prefer to keep the alcohol as an accompaniment as an ingredient, it supplies an oddly medicinal note. Method and texture Richard Olneys tapenade. Though the tapenade is traditionally made in a pestle and mortar, as Olney recommends, I think you get equally good results using the pulse function on a food processor, though the process is rather less satisfying for your inner peasant. Henderson does neither, however, preferring to roughly chop her ingredients to make something more akin to an olive salsa than a traditional tapenade, on the grounds its good to have some texture and not just a paste. Her version works well spread on thick toasts, as she suggests, but is less practical as a dip for breadsticks, or for drizzling over salads of ripe, red tomatoes. Im not sold on Olneys super fine variety, which is pushed through a sieve after pounding, either a certain rusticity suits tapenade. Peasant or not, you can afford to be generous with the oil the soft, fruity flavour rounds out all those savoury notes beautifully, as well as loosening the consistency. Serve with toasted rounds of stale baguette though British baguettes, unlike their French counterparts, dont obligingly desiccate between lunch and dinner, so you might have to plan ahead, breadsticks or crudits pour les minceurs, and, most importantly, a large, cold drink. How to make the perfect tapenade Felicity Cloakes perfect tapenade. Makes 1 smallish bowl a little goes a long way2. Juice of lemon. Remove the stones from the olives with a pitter or a sharp knife. Put in a food processor with the capers, anchovies, garlic and thyme, and whizz to a rough puree. Squeeze in the lemon juice and, with the motor still running, add the oil. Alternatively, pound the garlic, anchovies, capers and thyme together in a pestle and mortar until smooth, followed by the olives, leaving these slightly more chunky, then gradually add the oil and lemon juice, pounding between pours. Taste, and add pepper and more lemon juice if necessary.