Provençal Tapenade (Jacques Pepin) by Barbara

Tapenade is a Provençal spread made of black olives, capers, anchovies, garlic and olive oil.

Friday night was the first time this year for having our neighbors over for drinks and "pizza on the patio."  Each couple prepares a simple hors d'oeuvre then we order pizza. We started doing this during Covid. Anyway, we had lots of clean-up to do prior--- the patio furniture was very dirty from sitting out all winter.  I knew we would not have much time to cook anything, so I wanted something really simple to make.  I saw Jacques Pepin post this video earlier in the week. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/6Q5T5G8o9kcAdMQ7/?  When I rewatched it today, I had remembered most of what he had done. One difference is he added prunes for sweetness and I used sugar. Jacques says tapenade comes from the Provençal word for capers, tapenas, so a tapenade should include capers.  He adds mint.  We had all the ingredients on hand, even the mint and chive flowers in the garden, but not the baguette...Tom ran out to the store and luckily there was one left.

(The other bowl in the photo was a jarred artichoke and tomato topping. Not as good as the tapenade.)

Tonight we are using the leftover tapenade as a topping for grilled tuna steak. 

Merci, Jacques, for good recipes and techniques, as always. 

    ---Barbara

Provençal Tapenade

(inspired by Jacques Pepin's video)

Makes 1.5 cups

1 jar (10 oz.) pitted Kalamata black olives, well-drained

2 T. capers, well-drained

2 anchovy filets, roughly chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed

1 T. fresh mint leaves, torn

freshly ground pepper

2 T.  high quality extra virgin olive oil

large pinch of sugar, probably 1/8 t. 

chive flowers for garnish

16 baguette slices, brushed with olive oil and toasted until crisp and browned

Place all of the ingredients in a small food processor.

The mint is a nice, unexpected touch. 

Pulse until smooth enough to make a spread. 

For garnish, add a few chive blossoms or leaves of mint. 

Serve with thin slices of baguette which have been oiled and toasted until crisp and browned. 

B