I had never looked for, nor purchased, nor touched an anchovy before this recipe. In fact, anchovies completely weird me out. Just the thought of them make my stomach a little queasy. But this blog is called Ashley's Cooking Adventures and Alton Brown's Tapenade recipe calls for anchovies, so gosh darn it I had to conquer my fears.
They are a little hairier and slimier than I expected and for all the build up around these little guys, I only needed one in my recipe. One. So now I have a can of anchovies in my fridge. Every day, every single time I open the fridge I have to look at them because I can't be wasteful and just throw them out but I also can't think of another use for them (besides pizza, blech!). Do you cook with anchovies and if so, what do you use them for?
This tapenade is worth the anchovy efforts. It's tangy, salty, and on a piece of bread it will make you think you're in Southern France (even if you're on a small island in the East China Sea).
Olive Tapenade
From Alton Brown
Makes about 1 cup
Printable Version
Ingredients
1 pound pitted mixed olives (since I don't have access to a variety olives I just used Kalamata)
1 anchovy fillet, rinsed
1 small clove of garlic
2 fresh basil leaves (I used my frozen fresh basil)
1/2 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Throughly rinse the olives in cool water. Place all ingredients together in the bowl of a food processor.
Pulse to combine, stopping to scrape down the sides. Pulse again until mixture becomes a coarse paste, about 1 minute total.
Transfer to a bowl and serve with sliced bread or crackers.
