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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.
Ooh! I saw this funny mayo mentioned elsewhere, and needed it since i had no eggs, for my pilgrim sandwich (made with chicken instead of turkey, arugula instead of lettuce, caramelized onions instead of stuffing – a meal full of substitutions!). I found your recipe – dead easy; it worked perfectly just now and like the others, I’m fascinated by it. i made the plain mayo but will be experimenting with other combos.
A question: why can’t the olives be chopped in at the end (or beginning) of the emulsifying process? i like the idea of smaller pieces.
many thanks!
Chatelaine, I’m so glad you found the “mayo” and that you like it.
If you add the olives in the beginning they might mess with the emulsion. You can use the same mini-chop or wand blender, mince the olives, rinse, and make the “mayo.”
The reason why I say to hold off adding the olives until serving is that the brine solution can thicken the “mayo” too much if combined much ahead of time.
Sounds wonderful, David. I have never heard of a milk mayonnaise. Can’t wait to try it. …Susan
I was thinking I would need to plan a party as soon as possible so that I could make this dip and not eat it all myself when I remembered I have a bachelorette beach weekend in 3 weeks–some of us are former Williams-Sonoma employees and always have good food on the brain, so this is definitely going to be something I whip up while we’re celebrating our friend’s impending marriage. Well, that is, if the Outer Banks still exist after this hurricane batters the islands.
p.s. I downloaded your book onto my Nook and am very excited about it!
Fran, first, thank you for buying my book! I think the dip is perfect for the party. Just remember not to add the olives until right before serving. Please tell me what you think of it!