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When I visited A Bolota, a lovely restaurant perched on the sweeping plains of the eastern Alentejo, this dip, called patê de azeitonas verdes, 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.–David Leite
Atenção [Editor’s Note: That means “attention”)
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.
Portuguese Green Olive Dip
Equipment
- A small mini chop or hand blender
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup whole milk, plus more if needed
- 6 oil-packed anchovy filets
- 1 small garlic clove
- Leaves and tender stems of 6 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
Instructions
- In a blender, pulse to combine the 1/3 cup milk, anchovies, garlic, 2/3 of the cilantro, and the pepper.
- 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.
- Scrape the dip into a bowl and stir in the olives. Mince the remaining cilantro, sprinkle on top, and serve. If the dip thickens, you can always simply stir in a tablespoon or two of milk.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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.
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.
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.