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.



Comments

  1. I love olives.Great recipes so versatile.Could just eat the last one on toast:)

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