Tapenades to tempt you
Spread made from olives serves as dip, topping, seasoning
Looking at some photos recently of a memorable family trip to the south of France, I noted many were of market scenes — not an unusual interest for a food writer.
One picture showed a woman selling tapenade, a flavourful mixture whose key ingredient is olives.
She was not selling smalls jars or tubs, as you might find in a deli in Canada. She was selling it out of giant vats, suggesting she was going to sell a lot of tapenade that day.
Tapenade comes from the word tapeno, which means “capers” in Provence, a southwestern region of France from where tapenade originates, according to the book Jacques Pepin’s Table.
If you are wondering why it’s named after capers and not olives — the key ingredient — awardwinning author and Mediterranean food expert Clifford A. Wright writes on his website Cliffordawright.com that capers were brought to Provence from Crete by the Phocaeans, Greeks from Asia Minor who settled near Marseilles in the sixth century B.C.
Wright says the flower buds, the part of the caper used for culinary purposes, were preserved with olive oil in vessels called amphoras. The capers became mushed together in those amphoras and formed a kind of paste of crushed tapeno (capers). Wright calls this the ancestor of the modern tapenade.
These days, although capers and olive oil are still used, olives are by volume the main ingredient in tapenade. It’s also often flavoured with anchovies. Other blends of tapenade include those accented with such things as truffles, herbs, dried fruit and sun-dried tomatoes.
Below you’ll find three recipes that showcase some of the different ways it can be flavoured.
NIÇOISE OLIVE TAPENADE
Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: None Makes: About 1 cup (250 mL)
1 cup (250 mL) pitted Niçoise olives (or pitted kalamata olives) 4 anchovy fillets 1/4 cup (60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil 2 tbsp (30 mL) capers 2 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh basil or oregano
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) finely grated lemon zest 1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until wellcombined but still slightly coarse in texture. Do not turn into a very smooth paste.
Transfer the tapenade to a tight sealing container and refrigerate until needed. It will keep for two weeks. Warm the tapenade to room temperature before serving.
OLIVE , ALMOND AND APRICOT TAPENADE
Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: None Makes: 2 cups (500 mL)
1 cup (250 mL) dried apricots (about 26 to 28)
1 cup (250 mL) pitted Kalamata olives
1/4 cup (60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil 2 tbsp (30 mL) balsamic vinegar 2 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup (60 m L) slive red almonds
1/4 cup (60 mL) coarsely chopped basil
Ground black pepper to taste
Place the apricots in a pot, cover with cold water and set over high heat. Bring to a boil, and then remove from the heat and let the apricots plump up in the water for 15 minutes.
Drain the warm apricots and place in a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until well-combined, but still slightly coarse in texture. Do not turn into a very smooth paste.
Transfer the tapenade to a tight sealing container and refrigerate until needed.
It will keep at least 2 weeks. Warm the tapenade to room temperature before serving.
GREEN OLIVE AND SUN-DRIED TOMATO TAPENADE
Prep. time: 5 minutes Cooking time: None Makes: About 2 cups (500 mL)
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) pitted green olives
8 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1 tsp (5 mL) finely grated lemon zest 1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice 1 tbsp (15 mL) capers 2 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced 3 anchovy fillets 1/4 cup (60 mL) coarsely chopped fresh oregano or basil
1/4 cup (60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil 1. Blend tapenade with mayonnaise to create a dip for raw vegetables. 2. Use as a spread for Mediterranean-style sandwiches filled with such things as sliced tomatoes, grilled vegetables, cheese and salami or other deli meats. 3. Use tapenade as a topping on pizza or crostini. 4. Make a simple appetizer by setting a bowl of tapenade on a platter with a piece of brie or other creamy cheese, such as goat. Serve with a sliced baguette or crackers. 5. Toss tapenade into a hot pasta dish or cold pasta salad. 6. Spread tapenade on salmon or halibut fillets before baking them. 7. Before roasting chicken legs, lift the skin up and slide some tapenade underneath it. Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until wellcombined, but still slightly coarse in texture. Do not turn into a very smooth paste. Transfer the tapenade to a tight-sealing container and refrigerate until needed. It will keep at least 2 weeks. Warm the tapenade to room temperature before serving.