O for Olives

Rich pickings

It´s Portuguese simplicity.  Content to be sitting eating an olive and gazing up at the lovely blue sky.In England we would say "Everything´s rosy", the Portuguese equivalent is "Tudo azul" referring to the unparalleled blue of the skies above us.If you can stretch yourself further than a glass of wine or a bottle of Sagres and a marinated olive there are simple recipes to be had and the varieties of olives with which to to choose from are endless.

Black oilve pesto (traditional tapenade)

125g ( 4oz) anchovies

175g ( 6oz) pitted back olives

2 tablespoons capers

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Mix all in a processor, adjusting quantity of olive oil until your desired consistency is achieved

Green olive tapenade
4 cups green olives pitted
12 anchovies
4 tablespoons capers drained
2 garlic cloves
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Mix all in a processor, as above adjusting quantity of olive oil until your desired consistency is achieved

Tapenade of olives, sundried tomato and basil
250g ( 8oz) pitted black olives
250g ( 8oz) sundried tomatoes
25g ( 1 oz) fresh basil, leaves only
1 small tin anchovies
1 cup capers, drained and pressed between kitchen towel
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Put all the ingredients in a food processor with the 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and use the pulse button( if you over process it will turn to a puréee )You need to aim for a texture that looks like coarse gravel. Add a little more olive oil if it looks too dry.