Pesto Tapenade... or Tapenade Pesto

Artichoke Pesto Tapenade in a Grilled Cheese Sandwich - SRC Reveal

Salty, savory bites are my favorites, no question about that, so those flavors were the drivers in my search for this month's Secret Recipe Club choice. I enjoyed browsing through nearly 4 years worth of Corina's posts at my assigned site, Searching for Spice, a UK blog packed chock full of sweet and savory items. Some sweets, like Rocky Road Squares, did tempt me, and I'll revisit them for the holidays. Corina's Cardamom and Pistachio Ice Cream sounded divine too, but this month I focused on her many savory recipes. Two fish preparations were strong contenders, one a Jamie Oliver recipe for white fish cooked with spinach, olives and tomatoes, and another for fish baked en papillote with olives and lemon. Olives drew my attention again in a tapenade. I sense a pattern there. Unable to decide between recipes for pesto and tapenade, I took the easy route and combined elements of both, adding a few extras along the way. It sounds a bit random, but it worked.   

What's the difference between pesto and tapenade? I Googled both terms and found the following at PoshGourmet:

Pesto [PEH-stoh] — This uncooked, herbal sauce comes from Genoa. Classic method is to combine crushed or chopped fresh basil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese and olive oil. 

Tapenade [TA-puh-nahd; ta-pe-AHD] — This tasty thick paste comes from Provence. The ‘classic’ ingredients are capers, anchovies, ripe olives, olive oil, lemon juice, and seasonings. It is classified as a condiment.

First up was the tapenade, a chunky mix of green and black olives, capers, fresh basil, lemon zest and juice plus a lot of garlic. Anchovies are traditional, and I do love them in dressings and on pizza, but the saltiness of this mix was already over the top. So I skipped the anchovies and added a dollop of Dijon mustard and a sprinkling of dried Italian herbs instead.

  

After a few quick pulses in a food processor the tapenade was almost what I was looking for - tangy with a bit of a bite. More fresh basil, some toasted pine nuts, a jar of marinated artichoke hearts and a cloud of grated Parmesan cheese joined the party, followed by a few drizzles of olive oil. Mix. Taste. Smile. Adding those traditional pesto ingredients moved the flavors along to a brighter result, less of a one-note, overly-salty, olivey taste. Oh yes, this final combination was seriously delicious!

So what do I call this merging of recipes - pesto or tapenade? Is it a sauce or a condiment? Italian or French? My Artichoke Basil Olive Pesto Tapenade is definitely not a classic...  anything. Who cares?! It is deliciously habit-forming, an assertive, flavorful treat. Yesterday it starred as a quick and easy Pesto Tapenade Sauce for pasta at lunch. Delicioso!

Today it was a Tapenade Pesto Spread that lifted an ordinary grilled cheese sandwich to a whole new level. Scrumptious! 

Use Artichoke Pesto Tapenade to build a muffuletta sandwich, or top a cracker or liven up some crostini. Try it as a pizza topping or ... well, whatever, be adventurous and try it in your galley. 

Artichoke Pesto Tapenade

inspired by 2 recipes from Corina at SearchingforSpice

3 oz pitted green olives
5 oz pitted Kalamata olives
2 Tbs capers, drained & rinsed
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
zest and juice of 1 small lemon 
large handful of fresh basil, roughly torn or chopped
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted in skillet until fragrant
1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained & roughly chopped
a generous pinch of dried Italian Seasoning (blend your favorites)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
2 - 3 Tbs olive oil (more or less as needed)

Place all ingredients except cheese and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the pieces are roughly the same size, adding olive oil as needed to hold the mix together. Stir in the cheese with a spoon or spatula. Be careful not to overprocess or you will end up with an olive paste, still tasty but really ugly.

Taste and adjust to suit your palate. 
Note: To sauce pasta you may want to add more olive oil to loosen it up, perhaps add some hot pasta water to the tossed pasta and tapenade if you like it even saucier. 

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

I first tasted a tangy tomatillo salsa over 15 years ago at a cooking class in Albuquerque, New Mexico and it's been a favorite of mine ever since. It isn't a unique condiment, newly-foodie or even a weird recipe. You can find thousands of recipes online (try a Google search and check it out). AmateurGourmet posted his smooth version in January, Rick Bayless's pureed version is referenced in scads of blogs. Why bother with this post? Just because it's just a darned good salsa and I made a large batch. 

Tomatillos and poblano chiles are always present in my galley, two important and versatile ingredients to act as supporting players in many entrees, sauces and side dishes. They are typically blistered roasted under a broiler, chopped in a blender and cooked in a sauce or added to a filling (link). But not today. Today they were featured in raw form, two starring players in a fresh, crisp salsa verde. I prefer this recipe to the original cooking school version of long ago; it's a personal preference for crunchy, chunky salsa vs. pureed, soupy salsa. (Note:The original cooking school recipe is still found online and in a video here.)

Warning! Don't bother making this with canned tomatillos, they just won't work! There's a tinny, canned, not-so-pleasant taste and slippery-almost-slimey texture that comes along with the canned version. Ugggggh. Okay, I can stop now, that's out of the way.

Photo: Tomatillo Salsa tops a Taco and flavors rice

The salsa is a terrific stand-alone condiment to enjoy with chips, or to add to tacos, quesadillas, omelets, hamburgers, hot dogs, corn salad, tortilla soup, black bean soup, guacamole, dips, or even stir into a bowl of cooked rice or beans. Use a food processor or coarsely chop the ingredients by hand, either way this salsa is a quick prep. Add a little sour cream and mayonnaise for a creamy, slightly tamer version if you prefer. Add some chopped avocado for an extra bit of deliciousness.  

Chop, blend and season a batch of Tomatillo Salsa Fresca soon - it won't change your life but I'll bet you'll enjoy the fresh, tangy taste. 

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

5 or 6 large tomatillos, husked & chopped

2 poblano chiles, seeded & chopped

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

4 green onions, white & green parts, chopped

zest and juice of 1 small lime

1 garlic clove, minced or pressed

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, rough chopped

Salt to taste

Hot sauce or green tabasco to taste (optional)

Process tomatillos, poblano and red onion separately in food processor until coarsely chopped (but not pureed!) Add to a medium-sized bowl, draining off most of the tomatillo liquid. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Let sit 10 or 15 minutes, then taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Too tart? ad a bit of sugar. Too bland? add more salt and some hot sauce. Too spicy hot from the poblanos? add a little sour cream and mayonnaise, but not too much or you'll have a sandwich spread instead of a salsa.

Simple Salsa Cruda

Here's a salsa that's terrific with or without the heat from a chili pepper, and it was inspired by a French cooking legend, Jacques Pepin. A Latin salsa from a French chef? Go figure! Intrigued by an online reference to his 1994 cookbook Simple and Healthy Cooking, I found a used copy of the book and skimmed a few of the recipes to see what a French chef considered simple and healthy. I didn't know what to expect, especially since the hardback was in almost new condition but had been surplused by a public library. Why had so few people checked it out?  It doesn't matter, this book is now mine and we're enjoying many of the recipe ideas. Simple and healthy can also be full of flavor.

I have prepared the salsa several ways: with jalapeños, with poblanos, with sweet red peppers and with no peppers at all... this recipe is a versatile base to work with. RL has named it gazpacho salsa  - it must be the cucumbers that make that connection for him. My recent versions of salsa cruda have served as a side salad, a topping for pork carnitas tacos, a relish for taco chip appetizers and a major component for Mexicorn salad. Tomorrow it might top a chorizo frittata or fill an avocado half. This recipe is a keeper, for sure. Thanks Jacques.

Salsa Cruda

Adapted from Jacques Pepin’s Simple and Healthy Cooking

2 medium tomatoes, seeded & chopped (Jacques likes his peeled)

1 sweet red pepper, seeded and chopped

1 bunch fresh cilantro, rough chopped (about 1 cup)

1 medium onion (sweet or red), chopped

½ English cucumber, chopped

4 green onions, white & green parts, chopped

4 or more garlic cloves, pressed or a generous sprinkling of garlic powder

¼ cup red wine vinegar

a few tablespoons of lime juice

a few tablespoons of  mild olive oil

chopped poblano pepper or minced, seeded jalapeno (optional but recommended)

salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and toss to mix. Let it sit a bit to develop the flavors, then toss some more. Cover and refrigerate; this salsa will keep for a week or two if need be, though it gets juicier as it sits longer.

Zesty Cranberry Relish

Not just for holiday dinners, enjoy this cranberry relish any time.

Cranberry Relish a la Martha Stewart adds colorful zest to the traditional brown Thanksgiving dinner. Think about how many tables feature a browned beige bird surrounded by pale mashed potatoes, brown stuffing, brown gravy and pale beige rolls. Cranberries look festive, but can disappoint flavorwise. There is no disappointment with this recipe - Martha got it right! The bold flavors of onion, ginger, mint, jalapeno and citrus create an engaging fiesta for the tastebuds.


The dish is somewhere between a condiment and a side dish, tasty however you use it. Serve it as an accompaniment to roast turkey or chicken, or pair it with pork, lamb or beef. It's a winner on turkey sandwiches or inside panini with turkey and havarti. 


Leftover relish is rarely a problem in my kitchen, it disappears quickly. (I nibble on spoonful after spoonful whenever I think about it.) Hmmmm, I could tweak the recipe and try canning a chutney-like version of the cranberry relish. No, this month I'll make batch after batch of the fresh recipe.

Martha Stewart’s Cranberry-Orange Relish

Martha Stewart’s Living, November 1995

makes 2+ cups

2 cups fresh or defrosted frozen cranberries

1/4 cup diced red onion (half a medium onion)

1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (or substitute 1 medium poblano)

2 TB fresh lime juice

2 blood oranges* or navel oranges, peeled and sectioned, juices reserved

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/2 cup sugar

2 stalks celery, peeled to remove strings, cut in 1/4-inch dice

1/4 cup pecans, toasted, broken in pieces

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, coarsley chopped**

1. Place cranberries in food processor and pulse to chop coarsely, about 5 pulses. Transfer to a medium bowl. Do the same with half a red onion.

2. Add onion, jalapeno, lime juice, orange sections and juice, ginger, sugar, and celery. Mix gently. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days. Just before serving, add mint and pecans and toss to combine.

*  Blood oranges give the relish GREAT color, but the flavor is the same with navel.

**You can substitute fresh basil or cilantro, or even use bottled mint sauce, but fresh mint leaves work best.

Spicy Mango Chutney

Chutney? why would I make any when the pantry already holds several jars of Sharwood brand mango chutney? 

I can blame it on Trader Joe's tempting packages of Chile Spiced Mangos. That new item appeared in my shopping cart when I wasn't looking, or so it seemed. Around our house dried mango is a popular snack food. We love most things spicy, so chile heat topping sweet dried mango should be terrific, right? Wrong! One nibble was enough. We didn't like its mouth feel or the harsh flavor as a snack. The opened package of gritty, spicy, dried fruit sat on the shelf, rejected and fostering "food-waste guilt" every time I opened the pantry door. Finally, a week later, some self-induced pressure forced to do something with that damned 8-ounce package of chile mangos.

I skimmed recipes in cookbooks and online, looking for inspiration. In the end I worked out an approximate ratio of liquid to dried fruit, sweetened liquid (fruit juice) to sour (vinegar and lemon juice), and went from there. The ingredient list came from what was available in the pantry and the seasonings reflected flavors we like. The free-form afternoon chutney fest was organized; its goal was a thick condiment featuring sweet/sour/spicy flavors. 

The process was a simple one: chopping, measuring and stirring at a simmer. Only the dried fruit was briefly problematic, sticky and moist enough to grab my chopping knife. Kitchen shears were more effective in cutting up the apricots. 

Many recipes recommend holding the chutney for one or two days to let the flavors blend. We couldn't wait that long and kept taste-testing as the chutney cooked, checking for seasoning. We nibbled a few spoonfuls while it cooled, still checking for seasoning. Finally we spooned it over Hawaiian chicken meatballs and rice, and declared it a keeper. No need to adjust the seasoning. Yum! 

I can almost taste this chutney on a pork, brie and sliced pear panini, or accompanying grilled chicken, lamb or pork. Imagine it on a crostini with creamy cheese, or filling a baked wonton cup as an appetizer... There might not be any left to put in glass jars for canning. No problem, another batch won't take more than an hour to prepare. 

Diced dried chile mango bits

The rest of the chutney ingredients

Cooking at a low simmer

Spicy Mango Chutney with Hawaiian meatballs and rice

(Note: the blur in the center is a fast-moving fork!)

Filling jars of chutney for canning (hot water bath)

Spicy Mango Chutney

2 1/4 cups apple cider

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon garlic, minced or pressed

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup (8 ounces) TJs dried chile mangos, in small dice

3/4 cup (6 ounces) dried mangos (regular, not flavored) in small dice

3/4 cup (6 ounces) raisins (or Sultanas or dried cranberries)

1/4 cup (2 ounces) dried apricots, in small dice

Extra liquid, if/as required

1. Add cider, vinegar, lemon juice and  honey to a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Heat over medium heat until just boiling, stirring until the honey melts. 
2. Add the curry and ginger; heat and stir briefly to incorporate. 
3. Add the dried fruit and return the pot to a boil, stirring occasionally. 
4. Reduce the burner heat to the lowest setting possible, and simmer until fruit is rehydrated and liquid is reduced and thick, about 20 minutes on my stovetop. Add more liquid if needed.
5. Remove from the heat; cool; store for a day to let the flavors blend. 
6. Refrigerate to store or use a water bath to can half-pint jars.

Notes:

• We ate it warm and the flavor didn't suffer. The recipe doesn't need any adjustments, but variations are always fun.
• On my next batch I might add some diced onion and sweet peppers.
• Chopped almonds would be a tasty addition after step 5.
• A glass half-pint jar of this chutney is an eye-catcher, with vibrant jewel colors that glow in the light. Keep a few extra jars on hand for attractive and tasty gifts.