This weekend I prepared multiple meals for my visiting parents, my grandmother, and a close family friend. The food had a largely Mediterranean flair, since we all can't get enough of that stuff. The first dinner featured a spread of, uh, spreads. There was hummus. Then there was Black and Green Olive Tapenade (page 9).
Putting a tapenade together is a very simple thing; the ingredient list is minuscule. Because of this, you really do want the highest-quality olives you can find. Even with imported olives and capers, you're still getting much more deliciously fresh spread for your buck than if you'd reached for that pricey little ready-made container. And hey, you've made it yourself, and it is that easy.
My mother is especially fond of the stuff and she enjoyed it, though she noted it was a tad saltier than she's used to—the fault, I think, lies with me. I used marinated olives without rinsing them and still added the salt called for; maybe even a little more. I liked it saltier, as did some of the others, but taste and adjust. Salty or not, my guests found it agreeable enough to finish right up. I'll be making it again and playing around with salt levels and types of olives used. (Here: kalamata and some manner of Spanish green.)
- - Ulpia, spreader of spreads, spreading news of the other spreads shortly - -
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Me and olives aren't friends but it looks fantastic. Tell me more about that bread though!
ReplyDeleteIt was delicious (the bread). I didn't make it, though. I had planned on making bread but had class until late and, with everything else, couldn't get to it. So I bought some bags of bruschetta-breads made by a local bakery. They crumbled just right and had a wonderful olive-oil flavor that mingled somehow with the poppy and sesame seeds to create a pleasant ghost of an anise taste. I know you understand when I wax poetic about breadstuffs. I used it to model the upcoming spreads, too.
ReplyDeleteI love all of your signatures. They make me laugh!
ReplyDeleteUlpia, if you don't have these books, get them!
ReplyDelete- Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
- The Bread Baker's Apprentice
Deej -- I have way too much fun writing them.
ReplyDeleteMs. Veganorama -- they're so both on my wish list; a list big enough to drown in. You know how it goes with certain sorts of books.