Tapenade, Toasts

SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2010

Another long hiatus. I can understand if you are giving up on me. It’s been a busy spring. A new addition to our family has been the biggest sapper of time and energy that might otherwise have gone to trying new recipes. Not that I’m complaining. At all!

Anyway, this weekend I was tasked to bring an hors d’oeuvre to a gathering. I decided to try Lydie’s tapenade. Tapenades were ubiquitous at all the farmer’s markets that we visited in Provence - luscious varieties next to bins of whole olives. I remember Lydie saying, and I read it again in her cookbook, that making a good tapenade is time-consuming. You have to strain the mixture through a sieve, teaspoon by teaspoon, in order to be rid of the olive skins. The first part is easy: just dump niçoise olives, anchovies, capers, and a little brandy in a food processor and push the button. It’s true: straining out the skins does take a little time. But that’s nothing compared to the time it takes to de-pit about 100 little olives! Note to self: do not try this unless you get pitted olives next time.

The resulting tapenade was very good. It compares favorably to the concoctions I had in France. I have another recipe for tapenade that includes garlic, which could be a nice addition, but also includes olive oil. While it’s tasty, I’ve always found it too oily, so this is a good variation and it's plenty creamy without the additional oil. Speaking of oil, Lydie suggests serving the tapenade on little toasts. She has a recipe for toasts, which basically entails slicing a baguette into ½ inch rounds and sautéing them in olive oil. Well again, to lighten things up, I decided to toast the breads in the oven on a cookie sheet which I had lined with tin foil to which I had added a thin coat olive oil. Maybe not quite as succulent as the sautéed variety but quite serviceable.