I have picked up some great recipes here and thought I would share one. I wish we could convince Rebecca to put her considerable talent to great use by writing about her life in Umbria. She could also sprinkle her recipes throughout this book which is sure to become a best seller. Perhaps we could also begin the process of coming up with a name for the book to get her motivated. Which leads to the point that these recipes should first be tested on an American focus group and perhaps some volunteers could make a field trip to Brigolante for just that purpose.
Back to my recipe offering. My pantry is full of little jars of spreads, olives, red peppers, artichokes - all for a quick bite when friends drop by. Although I have often purchased a commercial olive tapenade and thought it pretty good, I was delighted to learn this recipe from a friend in New Mexico.
Olive Tapenade
1 large egg, hard boiled and chopped 2 anchovy filets, rinsed and chopped 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed 1 garlic clove, chopped 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon Cognac 3/4 cup Kalamata olives (or a mixture of Kalamata and Nicoise olives) 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
Blend all ingredients in a food processor until finely chopped, but do not process to the puree stage, you want a nice texture, not paste.
This tapenade is great served on toasted bread rubbed with garlic and is heavenly when you top the bread first with goat cheese and then the tapenade.
Posts: 1468 | Location: on the Alabama River | Registered: 22 July 2002
I would recommend hand chopping all the ingredients except the olive oil and cognac and lemon juice together. That will keep the textures more rough with less of the pastiness that a processor or blender will give you. Then add the liquid ingredients to taste.
You bring up a good point Dean. Since the ingredients are rough chopped before processing anyway, there is also the option of not using a processor. I make this often and do use my processor. However, there is that fine line between just right and puree, like when you use a processor for pesto.
Also, olive tapendade tends not to be a lovely thing to look at, in my opinion. It definitely does not need to be processed to the point of becoming grey sludge. Sometimes certain of my conservative friends(meaning only meat and potato eaters) will avoid the olive tapendade until a braver soul raves about. It could be the color or the fear of it being pate. Of course it doesn't look like pate, but that food is always avoided at my house, especially after the Christmas of 2001.
A friend, a chef now living in N.M., brought a wonderful pate to my home that Christmas. Another friend, a devout meat and potato eater, tried it, loved it, raved about it, told his wife "honey, you have to get that recipe". He turned very pale when he was told it was pate and he has never trusted me since. When invited to dinner, I have to give him the menu with a promise of no food that first requires a chemical analysis for the ingredients.
Posts: 1468 | Location: on the Alabama River | Registered: 22 July 2002
When my wife and I were just starting out (we weren't even living together at the time) there was a little pakastani restaurant across the street from her apartment in Chicago. We used to go there. It was an American diner in the front room with a back room filled with Pakistanni's watching video's (boy meet girl, girl meets boy's elefant, girl hates boys elefant, elefant runs away, sex scene with a big dildo, elefant is shot after going on a rampage, girl loves elefant who dies, boy cries and marrieds girl) and eating the great food. The owners could not believe we wanted the Pakistani food. FInally we convinced them and Kay began a love of some more unusual food. But she would not eat the oddities part of the menu- tripe, kidneys, liver etc.
One night Kay was too tired to even go across the street and I was only slightly more energetic. In order to score brownie points with her, I volunteered to go and get us a Pakistani dinner. She agreed.
I went over and promptly ordered an order of Liver, one of kidney and one of tripe. I brought the food back and she said "Smells good, what did you get?" I played dumb "ohhh just some stuff. You know I can never remember what its all called."
She fell for it and we devoured the food. FInally I said "did you like it all?" to which she said yes. Since she had all but licked the plate, the lightbulb went on and she grew suspicious. "What was it?"
"That's the kidney, that's the tripe and that's the liver" I said pointing and looking very smug. Good thing I had all those brownie points built up becuase I needed them that night!
Of course last week we had tripe at Dim Sum, Giant Clam (geoduck) liver soup, and last night Kay reluctantly let me have the fish cheek (her favorite part of the fish). She loves cuttlefish eggs (a Venitian specialty) and baby octopus. BUt when I met her she got ill at the thought of Sushi. It all started that night with the unmentioned Pakistani food!
OK, there is a limit to what I will eat. It's really a ridiculous problem but I cannot bring myself to eat organs, octopus, squid, lobster - I am sure there is more - yes, snails. I have no doubt that a true gourmand would rank me only slightly above that lowliest of groups - meat and potato eaters.
To my credit, I tried tripe cooked at a friend's house in Italy, swallowed it down and said "yum", then pushed it around my plate. My father grew up eating brain, sweetbreads and other organs and tried to teach us to like them when we were children. Even smothered in ketchup (which is how we disguised the look and taste of food we hated) I could not eat these things without gagging. He gave up, called me spoiled, and began a long lecture on poor children in India. My husband says his lectures were about poor children in China.
I also have a texture problem and that is why I cannot bring myself to eat octopus, squid and lobsters. I also think octopus and squid are ugly. I think cows, pigs, sheep (I probably shouldn't have used that word) and most all vegetables and fruits are beautiful. I must be prejudiced toward ugly food.
Almost forgot, I tried lardo in Italy at dinner with friends in Lucca. Hated it and can see why there is a ban on it. Or has it been lifted?
Posts: 1468 | Location: on the Alabama River | Registered: 22 July 2002
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