Olive tapenade in classic Provençal style

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 200 g olives, black, pickled, without stones, drained weight
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp, heaped thyme leaves, preferably fresh, if dried, then only 1 tsp.
• 1 tbsp, heaped dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 small chili pepper(s), medium hot, without seeds, chopped or half the amount of dried
• 1 tbsp, heaped capers, pickled, drained
• 4 anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped
• Olive oil, extra virgin
• ½ organic lemon(s), grated peel
• Sea salt and pepper, freshly ground
• e.g. thyme leaves or sprigs
• some olives
• Fleur de Sel
• e.g. capers for a crunchy topping

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

imported to Fiefhusen from Aix-en-Provence

The main tool we need is a good kitchen blender or “magic wand” with sharp blades. First, drain the olives and prepare the ingredients according to the list. Be a little more defensive with the chili pepper. The tapenade should only have a very subtle spiciness; if necessary, add a little chili powder later. Then mix all the ingredients together and add them to the blender. Blend briefly two or three times until you have a uniform mixture with small cubes. Now add about a shot glass of good virgin olive oil and blend briefly again. Check the mixture to see how finely chopped it is and how smooth and spreadable it is. Continue adding olive oil and blending until you achieve your personal perfect texture. Some people like a slightly chunky texture, others (like us) prefer a very fine and velvety mouthfeel. You should also use enough olive oil so that the paste has a nice shine and some oil settles on the surface. Once that’s done, grate the lemon zest over it and stir in, then season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Be careful with the salt, as olives and anchovies are quite salty. Transfer the olive tapenade to a serving dish and let it rest for at least 1 hour. Then garnish everything with a little thyme, a sprinkling of fleur de sel, and perhaps a few olives. Done. As this is a French specialty, freshly baked baguette is a MUST. The tapenade also tastes great on toasted ciabatta, toast, rolls, etc. It’s also great as a pesto for a pasta dish; then grate some fresh Parmesan or French hard cheese over it. It’s also delicious as a dip for vegetable snacks or warm goat’s cheese. Tip: If you have any capers left over, you can make a fantastic, crunchy topping for the tapenade. Drain the capers and then pat them dry with kitchen paper. Then place the capers in a fine-mesh sieve, sprinkle with flour, and shake well in the sieve until the capers are coated all over and any excess flour is gone. Then, fry the capers in hot rapeseed oil in a small pan until crispy and transfer to kitchen paper with a slotted spoon to drain the oil. These crunchy capers taste completely different from the originals, and even caper haters love them. Sprinkle them on top of the tapenade baguettes for the “Fiefhusen touch” of this dish. These capers also go great with meat or fish tartare and (you won’t believe it) Mettbrötchen (a kind of German minced meat sandwich). I should note that the quality of the tapenade depends on the quality of the olives. It’s better to go to the market and try everything rather than buying the first thing you see in the supermarket.