Bonnie: Walking the Fancy Food Show earlier this summer, I heard a voice saying, “It’s all your fault.”
When I turned to see who was blaming me, I saw Greg Hinson, founder and president of O Olive Oil smiling. “Because of your blog,” he said, “I’m now addicted to Annie Chun’s Pork & Ginger Mini Wontons.”
I told him that I love those crispy wontons dipped in a blend of a pepper vinegar and soy, then he shared that he dips his cooked wontons into a blend of his Sudachi Lime Rice Vinegar, soy sauce and chili oil.
“Sudachi Lime Rice Vinegar?”
He offered me a sample to try, and also handed me a cracker with chèvre and some chunky tapenade. I liked the vinegar, but had to know more about the tapenade. This O tapenade contains large chunks of Picholine olives soaked in their own O Meyer Lemon Olive Oil, with some added lemon zest and juice, plus a splash of a Bite of the Best favorite, their O Citrus Champagne Vinegar. A yummy mixture that won a silver sofi award for best appetizer this past summer.
Monique Korleshin piped in with her recommendation for using the tapenade: “Just toss some with hot pasta or spread some atop a fish, like halibut (or ahi).”
I tried and liked both, adding some freshly grated Parmigiana Reggiano to the pasta. Here are some more suggested uses for you:
- Use as a spread for sandwiches
- Spread over grilled chicken and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper
- Use on toasted bread or crisp cracker over goat cheese
- Add some to a goat cheese and fresh tomato pizza
- Add anywhere you’d use olives
Bryan: Let’s first try to get on the same page…. Tapenade is a French Provençal dish consisting of finely chopped olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil. The mixture, while possibly foreign to many American palates, is an incredibly popular staple in the south of France and elsewhere along the Mediterranean Sea.
This wonderfully distinct creation of olive goodness is usually eaten as an hors d’œuvre, spread over crusty bread, crackers or vegetables, though the strong salty, sea flavor also makes tapenade a perfect filling for stuffed fish fillets and other main courses. The dish is truly a mainstay of Southern French cuisine, and has certainly made its way across the pond and onto the tables of progressive restaurants and shelves of specialty supermarkets.
Though tapenade’s most dominant and obvious flavor is the salty, sweet olive, the food’s name actually originates from another of the provençal ingredient list, capers… also known in French as “tapenas.” Amazingly, this namesake component is one that is often left out in American recreations, but we still call it tapenade nonetheless.
So, what does an American version of tapenade look like? Enter O Olive Oil, the authority in organic citrus-crushed olive oils since 1995, and in premium barrel-aged wine vinegars since 1997. This company is special (we’ve written about it before!) and its unique twist on the mythical French dish has created a whole new style of tapenade.
O makes a number of amazing, boutique food products, and its attempt at the famous olive mixture is no different. Three flavor options include Blood Orange, Jalepeño Lime, and today’s star, Meyer Lemon. O’s lemony twist on the traditional tapenade uses chopped Picholine olives soaking in delicate Meyer Lemon Olive Oil. This is California essence shining through the South of France, and the new twist on such an old favorite is something that olive lovers simply cannot miss. Think salty but citrusy, biting but familiar, think California sunshine but basking on the beaches of France… Feeling good? Yeah, that’s about right.
Meyer lemon not your style though? Try O Blood Orange Tapenade with olive oil, kalamata olives and capers, or O Jalapeño-Lime Tapenade with sun-dried tomatoes with green olives and garlic. Tapenades, though unexpected, are certainly another winner from the kitchens of O!
Eric: Tapenade is an acquired taste — it’s certainly not your run-of-the-mill flavor profile. O is looking to re-create the tapenade “wheel,” and they couldn’t have chosen a more traditional starting point. On their own, Picholine olives, the original type used for typical tapenade, are widely known as cocktail olives (or the garnish you play with while sipping your martini). Picholine are a younger “sweeter” green olive with a unique balance of salty flavor; they are also a great table olive. What O has done is taken this amazing Picholine, drenched it in its own juices, then added a subtle flavoring of lemon and a drizzle of vinegar. The taste is unique, and designed for the discerning palette. My advice: Trust the creator’s advice on how to use this one-of-a-kind tapenade… time to break out the goat cheese.
Leave A Comment