Tapenade

  Tapenade is a provençal french dish made of pureed olives, anchovies and capers.  The name tapenade comes indeed from the word tapenas which means capers in provençal language.  It was last christmas when I first attempted to make it at home.  I followed the recipe of the Larousse Gastronomique encyclopedia and, even though I liked it, I have to recognize that it was quite strong - lots of anchovies and capers.  Thus, I decided to play with the recipe a little bit until I got the "clean plate" sign (people liked it when you end up with an empty plate at the table).

 In my version, I increased the amount of black olives and went lighter on the anchovies and capers.  I also added a bit of grated parmesan cheese as a signature touch and we loved it! 

Here is what you will need.

MATERIALS:

 - Hand chopper or food processor

 - Bowl or plate to serve

INGREDIENTS:

-  1 cup of black olives (pitted)

-  3 anchovy filets

-  1 garlic clove

-  1 tablespoon of canned tuna (well drained)

-  2 teaspoons of capers (well drained)

-  Juice of 1/4 lemon

-  1 tablespoon of grated parmesan

-  1 tablespoon of olive oil

HOW TO PREPARE IT:

  Add all the ingredients in the chopper or food processor and blend until you get a paté consistency.

You can serve it in a little bowl as a spread or in a vertical cylinder (using the stainless steel ring). 

Here I served paired with steak tartare (recipe here)

Enjoy!!