I often pair tapenade with fresh goat’s cheese (see Farandole of sweet and savoury spoonfuls). I also use it in little puff pastry tourtes, mingled with young sheep or goat’s cheese and semi-confit tomatoes (Filo tart with Mediterranean vegetables and goat’s cheese). I don’t like to overwork the olives because they lose a little of their colour – that’s why I chop them with a knife, as I do for the other ingredients, before adding them to the processor and blitzing briefly.
MAKES ABOUT 360G
200g green olives, pitted and roughly chopped
60g anchovy fillets (pliable and not overly salty), diced
2 medium garlic cloves, green germ removed (if present) and crushed with the flat of a knife
30g capers, drained and chopped
100ml light but fruity olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon, or to taste (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Put all the ingredients except the olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning into a food processer. Process for 30–45 seconds then, on a low speed, slowly pour in the olive oil in a thin stream, as you would for mayonnaise. Once the mixture is homogeneous (after about a minute), add a little salt and a generous grinding of pepper, then finally add the lemon juice, if using.
Transfer the tapenade to a jar with a lid and keep it in the fridge until ready to use. You will need to give the tapenade a stir each time you use it, to ensure it is homogeneous. It keeps very well in the fridge for 8–10 days.
Substitute black olives for green, reduce the quantity of anchovy fillets to 20g and omit the salt.