(13 votes)
Loading ...Portuguese Green Olive Dip
Patê de Azeitonas Verdes
by David Leite
from The New Portuguese Table
(Clarkson Potter, 2009)
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
When I visited A Bolota, a lovely restaurant perched on the sweeping plains of the eastern Alentejo, this dip was brought to our table. As I nattered away with friends, I dipped, spread, and nibbled, until I realized I alone had eaten all of it. Later, when I became friendly with the cook, Ilda Vinagre, I watched her make it and was flummoxed when she whipped up its silky base: milk “mayonnaise”—whole milk whirred into a smooth consistency with the addition of vegetable oil. I serve this as a dip with a platter of crudités, alongside crackers or bread, or, sometimes, as a topping for grilled fish.
Atenção: Don’t make this in a food processor. The bowls of most processors are too large to allow the scant amount of ingredients to whip up to the right consistency. A small narrow blender, or a mini chop or handheld blender, works best.
convert 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
Pinch of freshly ground white pepper
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup pitted green olives such as Manzanilla, rinsed quickly if particularly salty, roughly chopped
Method
1. Add the 1/3 cup milk, anchovies, garlic, two thirds of the cilantro, and the pepper to a blender and pulse to combine. With the motor running, pour the oil in what the Portuguese call a fio, or fine thread. Keep whirring until the oil is incorporated and the mixture thickens, 30 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes, depending on your equipment.
2. Scrape the dip into a serving bowl and stir in the olives. Mince the remaining cilantro, sprinkle on top, and serve. If the dip thickens, stir in a tablespoon or two of milk.
Recipe © 2009 David Leite. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Leite’s Culinaria, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of use. 
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Oh, goodie! A sneak peak. I love this dip and you are right, it is absolutely delicious as a topping for grilled fish and chicken. Perfect for grilling season.
Because it’s so good on grilled fish and chicken, I wanted to get this out sooner rather than later. Remember how much fiddling went into finding the perfect proportions?!
Just made it. WONDERFUL. I don’t have a stick wand [blender] anymore, so my solution was to double the recipe and use the blender. Worked great. I can see why you use it on fish. It’d be terrific on salmon. By the way, the recipe didn’t specify, but do you use manzanillas that are stuffed with pimento or unstuffed? It’s hard to find them unstuffed here, but I went ahead and de-stuffed them myself. Seemed best. I also used anchovy paste instead of filets. I used about 6″ worth…remember though, I doubled the recipe.
MaryEllen, so glad you liked it. Doubling the recipe is a good idea, if you can use that much at once! As far as the olives, always use unstuffed. The pimento will give a very different flavor to the dip. And I think the anchovy paste is genius. I stayed away from it when developing the recipe because it’s not available in all markets. So I stayed with the tried and true.
Looks great. Is there a good vegetarian version for this dip without anchovy?
Allon, you can omit the anchovies, add about 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to the milk, and proceed with the recipe. You might need to add a bit more oil, as the anchovies add body. In the book I have three other maioneses de leite–cilantro and ginger, tomato, and curry–and all are vegetarian.
While we loved the taste, my version came out kinda soupy. Any pointers on getting it to be thicker?
Absolutely. Emulsions can be tricky. First, don’t skimp on the anchovies and garlic; they add body to the dip. Also, as with all emulsions, make sure to pour the oil very slowly, and if you have to buzz it a bit longer, not a problem. You may even need to add a bit more oil if you omitted the anchovies. Don’t rinse the olives too much, as the brine helps to thicken the dip, too. But I find what assures the best consistency time and time again is to use a handheld wand blender. Canister blenders or food processors are really too big.
David, This looks absolutely divine. I adore olives. In an effort to make this without having to run out to the store—do you think something like a teaspoon of “fish sauce” could work here as a substitution for the anchovies? Just looking for a gluten free alternative…
Hi Stephanie, to be completely honest, I don’t know. The anchovies do add body and, of course, flavor. You can try the fish sauce, but you’ll definitely need more oil. I’m curious, though: Where’s the gluten? Anchovies don’t contain gluten as a rule.
David, you’re absolutely correct: they don’t contain gluten. I don’t have either anchovies or its paste at home and was just trying to come up with an alternative on the fly.
mmm i can’t wait to try this! i adore olives, and was just wondering what i was going to do with that whole stack of anchovy fillets that have been sitting in my pantry forever. thanks for the inspiration :)
You’re welcome, Stephanie. Hope you like it.
I made this dip for a dinner party a couple of weeks ago. I found this recipe last minute and didn’t make it first to try, so I was slightly hesitant. I found the ingredients easily, even though it was a last minute idea. It started the night off perfectly! Everyone was so excited by it. The anchovies and green olives weren’t overwhelming, yet loud enough to be so very tasty. All I heard for 1/2 an hour was “yum, yum, yum.” We served it with a Pinot Grigio, which went well. This dip was a breeze to make. I want to do it a few more times to get it just right. I need to drizzle the olive oil even more slowly, so as to get a thicker consistency. I look forward to the practice. Thanks for stimulating my taste buds and for the inspiration!
Sarai, so glad you liked it. Yes pouring in the oil slowly and giving it more time to whip up time helps consistency. Also I find that If I don’t rinse the olives, it makes the dip thicker, but it can have a slightly salty/briny edge to it.
When I first saw this recipe I was pretty sure I wouldn’t make it. Then I kept seeing it on the side bar…the picture looked SO good! Still, I was a bit intimidated. I whipped this together this morning using a hand blender and a two cup capacity glass measuring cup. It’s really good!
At first I thought the mixture would never emulsify. It stayed pretty loose until about two-thirds of the oil was in. I think I may have poured the oil in too slowly. All the sudden it was thick, and all the oil wasn’t in yet. I ended up adding a few teaspoons more of milk and was done.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, Mr. Leite!
Casey, I’m so glad you tried the dip. Emulsifications can be tricky, until you’ve tried a few. But you did it perfectly. Using a hand blender is how I get the absolute best results. And you did exactly as I do: stop just as the right texture is reached. You may have some oil left over, you may need a bit more. Each time is different. I hope you make the dip many more times.
WOW! I made a trial run of this today for a wedding I’m catering on Saturday. It. Is. Amazing. Thanks very much.
Pamela, you’re more than welcome. If you’re making it in large quantities be mindful of the emulsion. For the photo shoot, the stylists made it in big batches, but it took far longer to thicken. Also, stir in the olives not too long before serving.
Sounds delicious…any problem using salt-packed anchovies, if they’re well-rinsed?
Kelly, the oil in oil-packed anchovies add a more body and anchovy taste to the dip. You can certainly try the salt-packed version, but you might need to add a dribble more oil and process it a bit longer.