The French are unsurpassed culinary masters and great inventors. Even from ordinary products, they can create real culinary masterpieces that captivate with their exquisite taste. Do you love real black caviar? French chefs, even in prehistoric times, indulged themselves with a dish no worse than this delicacy. This dish is called tapenade.
The word “tapenade” comes from the Provençal word tapéno, which means “capers.” Nevertheless, capers are not the main ingredient in tapenade; it’s olives that are crushed or chopped into an uneven paste, resembling real caviar. Cooking this French (or more precisely, Provençal) dish is incredibly simple.
Classic tapenade is made from black olives, but you can optionally use green ones. AdmiGram.com will teach you how to make this culinary masterpiece. Serve tapenade with toast or crackers, and you will immediately understand that its second name – “poor man’s black caviar” – did not arise without reason.
Tapenade – black caviar invented by the poor
© Colette Leclair
Ingredients:
- Black pitted olives – 10 oz (280 g)
- Anchovy fillets – 10 oz (280 g)
- Capers – 1 tablespoon
- Garlic – 2 cloves
- Mustard – 1/2 teaspoon
- Olive oil – 1 tablespoon
- Parsley – a couple of sprigs
- Salt, pepper – to taste
How to cook:
In the recipe, we’ve provided standard original proportions, but Provencal housewives, of course, prepare this everyday appetizer without any scales. So, you can do the same. So, in a blender, combine high-quality pitted black olives (if they have pits, remove them first), capers, anchovy fillets, garlic, and parsley leaves, and blend until you achieve a coarse paste.
After that, add mustard and olive oil, and blend until it reaches a more homogeneous consistency, resembling the size of fish roe. Attention! We don’t need uniformity: the perfect tapenade should boast not only with taste but also with texture. When everything is ready, taste it. Season with black pepper and salt if necessary (sometimes the salt in capers and anchovies is sufficient).
So, the tapenade is ready: you can either serve it immediately or refrigerate it and let it marinate properly. In this case, before serving, bring the tapenade to room temperature. Tapenade can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Serve it with fresh bread, toast, or crackers. Some people even enjoy it with fresh vegetables (cucumbers, radishes, celery sticks, green salad leaves), or even with potatoes.
image on top: Colette Leclair
