Tapenade Dip from Elizabeth David (and Jan's version)

Tapenade in the radicchio cup on  a plate with lettuce and veggies and a whole mackerel fillet.

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I have a pile of books next to my bed, sort of a random collection of poetry, cook books and scientific doom of climate change.  This morning I opened one of the cookbooks, published in 1950;

Elizabeth David Classics.  David was one of England’s great food writers, born in 1915.  My how cookbook writing has changed over the years.  It is obvious that folks knew more about cooking than they do today. Sometimes I  think there is a fine line in plagiarism when it comes to cookbooks. There is so much liberty to take.  Anyway, this book  is a great inspiration to me and I keep it near my bed to page through on a random morning between Mary Oliver and Naomi Klein on Climate Change.

So check this recipe out:
One written exactly as Elizabeth David wrote it out in 1950 and the one I was inspired to recreate from her words.

I’ve written out her text  exactly how Elizabeth David writes recipes which I find downright refreshing! Of course I add my creation, inspired by her simplicity. Try them! They are a great  staple to have in the kitchen.  

I eat mackerel almost everyday, so it is refreshing to find a recipe and create a meal around it!

Tapenade Recipe written exactly from Elizabeth David’s Cookbook

WOW! recipes have changed

“Tapenade is a Provençal sauce. The name comes from the word t a p e n a, Provençal for capers.  It is a simple sauce, and excellent for hard-boiled eggs, cold fish, or salad of cold boiled beef.

 Pound two tablespoons of capers in a mortar with half a dozen fillets of anchovies; add olive oil little by little as for mayonnaise, until you have about a cup of sauce add the juice of a lemon and a little black pepper, but no salt, as the anchovies will probably be salty.

Jan Buhrman’s Tapenade Dip

I am thinking about life without catering and already I am missing all the sauces and dips and staples I have made over the years.  I do eat a lot of mackerel and I keep olives, preserved lemons, capers and pickled garlic in my larder.  The pickled garlic I got at a farmer's market in California from a garlic farmer.  What a great way to keep peeled garlic. I actually used all the garlic that came in the original jar, but I saved the spicy blend of vinegar and spices and added my own garlic. 

Now if you do not have anchovies, you can sub them with capers and a dash of fish sauce. Brilliant! 

1 cup  pitted olives (mixture of black olives and green is best )

2 ounces  anchovies about 7-8 anchovies (sub 2 teaspoons capers and 1/4 teaspoon fish sauce) 

2 cloves of garlic ( or spicy pickled garlic * see above) 

1 can of mackerel 

zest of one lemon and juice from one lemon or ¼ of preserved lemon

½ cup olive oil

½ cup mayo

1 bunch (about 1.5 cups) cilantro

1 bunch (about 1.5  cups) parsley 

2 tablespoons mustard - brown grainy or dijon 

Blend it all together in a food processor.

I put this on steamed baby potatoes and use this sauce instead of mayo for a potato salad. Or smother it on a salad (think Salad Nicoise). 

A grilled steak or on your hamburger are great with this! 

The possibilities are endless!