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.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Mmmm…olives and cilantro for me, anchovies for my husband. I am loving this! What a fabulous treat to serve before a meal with a glass of wine. And I am fascinated by the milk + oil process! Must try!
Jamie, it’s unusual, but i think you’ll love it.
I finally got around to trying this (as opposed to just lusting after it). Wow! Mine ended up fiendishly salty (I think the brand of anchovies I used was more than usually salty, honestly, or maybe I put a bit more of them in than I should’ve) but I loved it anyway, spread on sourdough toast, cooked artichoke leaves, and raw carrots.
Glad you enjoyed it, Linda. If you feel the anchovies are too salty, you could give them a (very) light rinse and pat dry before using them. Not too much af a rinse, as you do need to keep some salt for this velvety dip.
Linda, so glad you liked it. I’m with Dan: a simple, quick rinse of the anchovies will definitely help!
Add me to the “happy campers” from this unusual emulsion based spread. I loved Pielove’s directive of “half a pencil thin” flow of the oil while making this recipe. I used my immersion blender and the results were delicious. The only caveat from such a rich spread is not to pile it too high onto the crostinis. So flavorful and delicious! Cheers, Jeff
Thanks, chefjeff!