Patricia Wells’ Black Olive Tapenade

ThermoHubby John loves olives. Green olives, black olives, chilli-spiced olives. Greek olives, olives with provençal herbs, Queen olives. You name the olive, he loves it, although ThermoHubby John does have a preference for green ones. Madame Thermomix, however, prefers black olives. Big, wrinkly Greek olives that are jet black on the outside and an amazing dark brown on the inside. I also love herbs, especially the intense mixture called herbes de provence. So whenever I can marry black olives with herbs, I’m in savoury heaven.

Enter Patricia Wells, former restaurant critic for the ex-pats’ favourite newspaper, The International Herald Tribune (recently rebranded The International New York Times). Her current success as journalist, author, and cooking teacher is witnessed in [a very small] part by the presence on our bookshelves of no less than three of her wonderful cookbooks. How many meals in our home – be it in France or in England – have been inspired by one of Patricia Wells’ easy-to-follow and mouth-watering recipes? Before meeting ThermoHubby John, I frequently referred to Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells. ThermoHubby John brought to our partnership his copy of The Paris Cookbook, and somewhere along the way we acquired At Home in Provence.

Oddly enough, seeing that olives are more closely associated with Provence than with Paris, it is The Paris Cookbook that has provided the directions for channelling our olive-based desires and inspirations into a luscious and flavourful appetizer spread and dip. So much so, that our copy opens directly to the olive- and oil-spattered page 31 😉

This time I am making a batch of Black Olive Tapenade to massage into our boneless leg of lamb that will be the main course of our New Year’s Eve dinner. And this time, I have adapted Patricia Wells’ glorious recipe for my Best Friend in the Kitchen – my Thermomix, of course! My larder cupboard yielded ever-so-slightly different ingredients and proportions to the original recipe. For instance, I had anchovy fillets in oil rather than in salt, so I was able to dispense with soaking out the salt; I added some rosemary for an even deeper, more complex flavour; and I used a 250-gram jar of whole black Greek olives which I pitted myself – to the enduring dismay of my now-black fingertips!

Patricia Wells’ Black Olive Tapenade or Tapenade Noir
With its deep, complex flavours, Tapenade is delightfully served in several ways, including spread on wholesome, chewy French bread and as a dip for crudités. It combines with lamb for a match made in heaven and can be used as a basting spread/rub for our New Year’s leg of lamb. Some firm-fleshed, flavoursome fish also stands up to black olive tapenade; I have dropped a spoonful into a garlic cream sauce for grilled loin or sautéed medallions of monkfish and served it over fresh pasta. Delicious!

Ingredients
1 big, fat, juicy clove of garlic (or 2 smaller cloves)

1 x 250 g jar of whole Greek pitted olives (the black wrinkly ones) or 180 g pitted black brine-cured olives
25 g anchovy fillets in oil, drained (if using salted anchovies, first cover with milk and soak for 15 minutes to remove some of the salt)
15 g caper berries
1 tsp. smooth French Dijon mustard
¼ tsp. (one sprig) fresh thyme (leaves only)
¼ tsp. (one sprig) fresh rosemary (leaves only – optional)

90 g extra virgin olive oil
Several turns of freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Peel your garlic, 4 seconds/Speed 4 ½ /Reverse Blade Function. Remove and discard skins. Add all other ingredients except the oil and pepper and process 10 seconds/Speed 7 or until you get a thick paste.
2. Place a jug or a bowl on top of your Thermomix lid and weigh in the olive oil. With the blades of the Thermomix running at Speed 4 and the measuring cup turned bottom up, slowly pour the olive oil onto the lid and let it drip through the gap until fully incorporated. This will take about a minute. Stop and scrape the sides of the Thermomix bowl with the spatula.
3. Taste and add freshly ground pepper. Mix again 10 seconds/Speed 4. Turn out into a pretty bowl and serve with crudités, crusty French bread, or Bernie Brennan’s Almond and Seed Crackers, or spread it on your next leg of lamb.

Bon appétit !

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