Portuguese Green Olive Dip (Pate de Azeitonas Verdes)

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

I’ve found that it is difficult to come by pitted Manzanilla olives that aren’t stuffed, and so I often use jarred green olives that have been pitted and stuffed with pimentos. The flavor isn’t as pure as Leite’s original recipe, but it sure beats tediously pitting olives all day. Also, I like to substitute the vegetable oil with extra virgin olive oil.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup whole milk, more if needed
  • 6 oil-packed anchovy fillets
  • 1 small garlic clove
  • Leaves and tender stems of 6 fresh cilantro sprigs, minced
  • Pinch of freshly ground white pepper
  • 3/4 cup vegetable (or olive) oil
  • 2/3 cup pitted green olives such as Manzanilla, rinsed quickly if particularly salty, roughly chopped

Instructions

  1. Using a hand blender or stand blender (not a food processor – most are too big to allow the mixture to whip up correctly), add the milk, anchovies, garlic, and pepper, and pulse to combine. With the motor running, add the oil in a slow, thin stream. Keep blending until the oil is incorporated and the mixture begins to thicken into a mayonnaise-like consistency.
  2. Add two thirds of the cilantro and whir again until it is mixed in.
  3. Stir in the olives, top with the remaining cilantro and garnish with some olive slices.
  4. If the dip thickens, stir in a little bit of milk to loosen it up.

Notes

Recipe by David Leite, from The New Portuguese Table (Clarkson Potter, 2009).

http://lickmyspoon.com/portuguese-green-olive-dip/