Almond, Olive, and Rosemary Crackers with Roasted Butternut Squash, Chile, and Tahini Dip

Do you believe that true beauty comes from within? That idea is taken very literally in a new cookbook that offers nutrient dense dishes that help balance gut health and thereby assist with keeping your complexion at its best. The Beauty Chef: Delicious Food for Radiant Skin, Gut Health and Wellbeing by Carla Oates, of which I received a review copy, is a guide to eating for a medicinal effect. Oates writes: “the food we eat provides the ecosystem that interacts with our immune system to maintain our health and skin and overall wellbeing.” Whether you choose to eat certain foods specifically for their positive effect on skin conditions or you just want to try these recipes packed with nutrition powerhouses, there are a lot of great options here. First, there’s a list of nutrients with an explanation of why each one is good for you along with the foods in which it’s found. Then, throughout the recipes, the head note information will have some reminders about those nutrients and which ones are in the dish. The chapters cover Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks, Dinner, Sides, Desserts, Baking, Drinks, and Basics. I became hooked quickly after seeing the variety grains and fresh vegetables used, the abundance of fermented pickles, and the use of less-refined sweeteners like honey and maple syrup. There’s an Autumn Spice Smoothie Bowl made with oats, banana, and almond butter and topped with poached pears that I can’t wait to have for breakfast. And, I marked almost every page in the Lunch chapter with dishes like Warm Cauliflower Couscous Salad with Roasted Roots, Hazelnuts, and Crispy Spiced Chickpeas; Raw Rainbow Salad with Soft-boiled Egg and Creamy Miso Dressing; Buckwheat Noodles with Miso-Roasted Pumpkin, Caramelized Onion, and Umeboshi Plum Salad; and Lunch Wraps with Poached Chicken and Celeriac and Roasted Almond Remoulade on homemade Millet and Linseed and Spinach Wraps. If that all sounds a little too virtuous, bear in mind there are also recipes for oven-fried chicken, bbq ribs, and creme brulee. But since I’ve been going meatless and dairyless a little more often lately, I decided to start with a snack of Almond, Olive, and Rosemary Crackers with Roasted Butternut Squash, Chile, and Tahini Dip.

In the book, the crackers have “Cheesy” in the title, but I don’t think that’s even necessary as a selling point. The cheesy flavor here comes from nutritional yeast. These are gluten-free crackers made with almond meal mixed with the yeast flakes, chopped Kalamata olives, fresh rosemary, and salt and pepper. An egg white and some coconut oil hold the dough together. The dough was rolled out between pieces of parchment paper. Then, it was scored and left on the bottom piece of parchment for baking. There’s a nice tip for baking the crackers: as the outside crackers become browned, they can be cut along the scored lines and removed. Then, the pan can go back into the oven to brown the rest of the crackers. The dip was a simple puree of roasted butternut squash, a roasted tomato, and roasted garlic and chile. Tahini and lemon juice were added to the food processor while pureeing.

The crackers have great, savory flavor with the olives and rosemary and the underlying umami from the yeast flakes. If they lose their crispness after sitting for a bit, they can be popped into a warm oven to bring back their crunchy state. The butternut squash dip paired well with them. And, sliced cucumbers made good vehicles for it as well. There are several more things I’m eager to try from this book and it will be a nice bonus if I happen to achieve a healthy glow in the process.

‘Cheesy’ almond, olive and rosemary crackers
Recipes reprinted with publisher's permission from The Beauty Chef: Delicious Food for Radiant Skin, Gut Health and Wellbeing.

MAKES 24

The combination of olive, rosemary and cheese is a delight. However, in this dish I have used yeast flakes instead of cheese, which are rich in B vitamins and a great substitute for the flavour of cheese.

1 cup (100 g / 3 1/2 oz) almond meal

1/3 cup (15 g / 1/2 oz) savoury yeast flakes (available from health food stores)

1/4 cup (45 g / 1 1/2 oz) chopped pitted Kalamata olives

1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary leaves

1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt, plus extra for sprinkling

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg white

1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

Preheat the oven to 150ºC (300ºF). Combine the almond meal, savoury yeast flakes, olives, rosemary, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add the egg white and oil and mix well to combine.

Roll the almond mixture out between two pieces of baking paper, to make a 24 cm (9 1/2 in) square, approximately 2 mm (1⁄16 in) thick. Discard the top sheet of paper. Using a large knife, score the almond mixture to make 24 crackers. Press the ends of a fork into the centre of each cracker to mark. Transfer the crackers on the sheet of baking paper onto a large baking tray (cookie sheet). Sprinkle with additional salt. Bake for 10–15 minutes, until light golden.

Remove from the oven and cut through the scored marks. Separate into individual crackers. Remove the outer crackers that are crisp and golden and set onto a rack to cool. Cook the remaining crackers for a further 5 minutes, or until golden but not browned. Transfer onto the rack and leave to cool completely. Serve with dips, spreads, or as part of a meal.

Roasted pumpkin, chilli and tahini dip

MAKES 1 1/2 CUPS (SERVES 4)

A flavour-packed dip, starring pumpkin (winter squash), which is a great source of skin-rejuvenating vitamin A. And did you know that when you consume foods high in vitamin E – such as tahini (made from sesame seeds) – around seven days later vitamin E is secreted through your sebum to provide a protective layer?

350 g (12 1/2 oz) peeled pumpkin (winter squash), cut into 5 cm (2 in) chunks

1 medium tomato, halved

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

4 cloves garlic, in their skins

2 long red chiles

2 tablespoons tahini

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

Himalayan salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (400ºF).

Place the pumpkin and tomato on a baking tray (baking sheet). Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes.

Turn the pumpkin, add the garlic and chile and roast for a further 15 minutes, or until the garlic and chile are soft and the pumpkin is tender and caramelised. Set aside to cool slightly.

Squeeze the garlic out of its skin. Peel the tomato and chillies. Scrape the seeds out of the chiles and discard.

Place the pumpkin, tomato, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, garlic and chile in a high-speed food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Season with salt. Serve with crudites, crackers or as part of a meal.

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Kalamata Olive Sourdough Bread

I think I’ll always assume that part of bread baking is magic. I can choose different flours for different textures, adjust the timing according to the temperature, make big loaves or small rolls, but I’m never completely sure what the result will be until it comes out of the oven. Hence, it’s magic. This is also why I love reading books about bread baking and learning more about every detail of the process. Every baker who has written about bread baking has unique insights or techniques to offer. And, when the baker in question happens to be a Master Baker who trained at Les Compagnons du Devoir guild and has taught and consulted on bread baking around the world while operating his own bakery, I know there will be plenty to learn. I received a review copy of A Passion for Bread by Lionel Vatinet in which he describes the importance of bread throughout his upbringing in France and how he was inspired to master the craft of bread baking. After doing so, it became his goal to teach what he’s learned to as many professional and home bakers as he can. The book walks you through the processes of mixing, kneading, and shaping with helpful step-by-step photos along the way. There are yeast-raised breads including plain Baguettes and several varieties of stuffed Baguettes, Focaccia with all sorts of toppings, and Ciabatta as a loaf or rolls. Up next are Sourdough Breads which I’m partial to because of the complete simplicity of ingredients and homemade-ness of them. Last, there’s a chapter for other uses for all of these breads like recipes for soups to be topped with croutons, sandwiches with different breads, and stuffing. My first stop was in the Sourdough chapter for the Kalamata Olive Bread. 

As usual in preparing to bake bread, the first step was to feed my starter and get it ready to do its thing. The dough here was a mix of whole-wheat flour, bread flour, water, liquid levain or starter, and salt. Vatinet points out that by adding the water to a bowl first and then adding the levain, you won’t risk the levain partially sticking to the bottom of the bowl. The olives were chopped in half or quartered, drained, and then patted dry before being tossed with some flour. After mixing the primary ingredients, the floured olives were added and mixed into the dough. This recipe makes a sticky dough, and Vatinet provides good guidance for working with it. He assures you that after folding the dough at intervals during the first fermentation, it will have developed some body and lost some of the stickiness. I actually doubled the recipe to make two loaves. So, after the first fermentation, I divided the dough in half. In my case, two loaves were shaped, and I refrigerated them overnight for a slow final fermentation before baking. The issue of adding steam to the oven while the bread bakes is something every baker seems to address in a different way. A technique that has become popular is to place a shaped loaf in a pre-heated cast iron pot with a lid to allow the steam rising from the bread as it bakes to be captured inside the pot. With that method, you have the difficulty of gently placing a risen loaf in a very hot pot and then having to reach in to slash the surface of the loaf while not burning your hands on the pot. Vatinet offers a different approach to achieve the same effect. He suggests you place the loaf on a cornmeal-dusted peel, slash the top of the loaf, slide the loaf onto a baking stone in the oven, and then place a stainless steel mixing bowl over the loaf for the first ten minutes of baking. The bowl is easy to remove with oven mitts after it has done its job of capturing steam. It worked great, producing nice, crusty loaves. 

An idea mentioned in the recipe headnote is what convinced me to try this bread, and that was to use the olive bread for a tuna Nicoise sandwich. I ended up doing a tuna-less twist on that by toasting pieces of the bread, topping them a white bean spread, setting an anchovy fillet on each pieces, and drizzling with olive oil. It was a delicious combination of flavors from bottom to top. The more I learn and the more I bake, there are fewer mysteries to the process. But, I think there’s still a bit of magic involved.

Kalamata Olive Bread 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission from A Passion for Bread: Lessons from a Master Baker. Copyright © 2013 Lionel Vatinet. Little, Brown and Company. 

Makes 1 boule 

One of the stops on my Guild Tour de France was Nimes, where a fougasse (a French take on focaccia) with olives is the bread of choice. When I began baking in the United States, I added olives to my sourdough bread. It was instantly popular, which did not make me happy because the only olives available still had their pits. I spent more time pitting olives than making bread—not a fun job! Thankfully, pitted kalamata olives are now readily available in the United States. Try this bread to make a tuna Nicoise sandwich—a very French lunch. 

3.23 ounces/92 grams/about 3⁄4 cup pitted kalamata olives, well drained and patted dry 
2.28 ounces/65 grams/1⁄2 cup unbromated whole-wheat bread flour, plus .35 ounce/10 grams (2 teaspoons) for the olives 
11.03 ounces/315 grams/21⁄2 cups unbleached, unbromated white bread flour 
0.21 ounce/6 grams/1 teaspoon fine sea salt 
9.5 ounces/270 grams/1 cup plus 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon water 
3.5 ounces/100 grams/1⁄2 cup liquid levain  
Cornmeal for dusting 

1. MEASURING 
Scale all of the ingredients. 

Using a chef’s knife, cut each olive into 6 pieces and place them in a small bowl. Add the .35 ounce/10 grams whole-wheat flour and stir to lightly coat each piece of olive, allowing the flour to absorb any remaining moisture. Set aside. Using an instant-read thermometer, take the temperature of the water. It should read between 65°F and 70°F. Record it in your Dough Log. 

2. MIXING AND KNEADING 
Place the 11.03 ounces/315 grams whole-wheat flour, the white flour, and the salt in a medium mixing bowl, stirring to blend well. 

Pour half of the water into a mixing bowl, and then add the liquid levain, stirring to blend. 

Pour the levain-water mixture into the bowl of the electric stand mixer. Add the flour-salt mixture. Then, attach the dough hook to the mixer. Begin mixing on low speed (“1” on most mixers) and continue to mix until the dough becomes soft and moist, about 5 minutes, frequently stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to make sure that all of the ingredients are incorporated into the dough. 

Taste the dough to see whether you have forgotten the salt. If so, add it now and mix for another minute. The dough should just be beginning to come together. 

Stop the mixer and move the dough hook out of the way. Using your bowl scraper, scrape down the sides to make sure that all of the ingredients are combined in the dough. 

Return the dough hook to its original position. Increase the speed to medium-low (“2” on most mixers) and mix until the dough is soft and smooth, with a moist, tacky surface, about 2 minutes. 

Add the floured olives, reduce the speed to low, and continue to mix until the olives are completely incorporated into the dough. 

3. FIRST FERMENTATION 
Using an instant-read thermometer, take the temperature of the dough. It should be between 72°F and 80°F. If it is not, immediately make the necessary adjustments. Record the temperature of the dough and the time you finished this step in the Dough Log, and note the time the first fermentation should be completed. This dough will be in the first fermentation for 3 hours, with a fold each hour. 

Lightly dust a large glass or metal bowl with flour. Transfer the dough to the floured bowl, throw a light film of flour over the top to keep the plastic from sticking, tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and place in a warm (75°F to 80°F), draft-free place for 1 hour. 

Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. 

Uncover the dough and place it on the floured work surface. If the dough is very sticky, lightly flour your hands, but do not add more flour to the dough. If the dough sticks to the table, use your bench scraper to lift it up; do not pull and stretch the dough. Let the dough rest for 30 seconds. Using cupped hands, pat the dough into a thick square. Lift the right corners and fold them into the center of the square, lightly patting the seam down. Lift the left corners and fold them into the center of the square, again lightly patting the seam down. Repeat this process with the top two corners and then the bottom two corners, meeting in the middle of the square and lightly patting down the seams. 

Lightly flour the bowl and return the dough to it, seam side down. Cover with plastic wrap and return to the warm (75°F to 80°F), draft-free place for another hour. 

Repeat the above process and again place the dough in a warm (75°F to 80°F), draft-free place to rise for a third and final hour. At this point the dough should have increased in body and be less sticky. 

4. SHAPING 
Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. 

Transfer the dough to the floured surface and, using a flat hand, lightly press the dough into a thick rectangle. Lift the dough to make sure that it is not sticking to the work surface. If it is sticking, use the dough scraper to lift it. If it continues to stick, again lightly dust the work surface with flour. Then, carefully shape the dough into a boule. 

Lightly dust a banneton with flour. Place the dough in the banneton, seam side up. Throw a light film of flour over the top to keep the plastic from sticking, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. 

5. FINAL FERMENTATION 
Place the banneton in a warm (75°F to 80°F), draft-free place for 21/2 to 3 hours or, alternatively, proof for 1 hour and then place in the refrigerator for 12 to 16 hours. If the dough has been refrigerated, let it come to room temperature for 1 hour before baking. 

If you are using the stainless-steel bowl method to bake the bread, about 30 minutes before you are ready to bake, move one oven rack to the lowest rung and remove the other. 

Place a large baking stone on the rack and preheat the oven to 450°F. To determine whether the dough is ready to be baked, uncover and gently make a small indentation in the center of the dough with your fingertip. If the indentation slowly and evenly disappears, the bread is ready to bake. If not allow for additional fermentation. 

6. BAKING 
Lightly dust a bread peel with cornmeal and carefully transfer the loaf to it, top side up. 

Working quickly and using a lamé or single-edged razor blade, score the top of the loaf. Cut in quick, decisive slashes, marking into the dough by no more than 1/8 inch. 

Slide the loaf onto the center of the stone, taking care not to touch the hot surface. Quickly cover with the stainless-steel mixing bowl. Immediately close the oven door. Bake for 10 minutes; then, lift the edge of the bowl with the tip of a small knife and use oven mitts to carefully remove the hot bowl. Continue to bake until the bread is a deep golden brown, about 30 minutes more. (It is a good idea to check after the bread has been baking for about 20 minutes to make sure it is browning evenly. If not, rotate the bread.) If you are concerned about the bread’s doneness, insert an instant-read thermometer from the bottom of the bread into the center. If it reads 185°F to 210°F the bread is fully baked. 

Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack and let it cool for at least 1 hour before cutting with a serrated knife or wrapping for storage. 

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Black Olive Gourgeres

I always get excited about cookbooks that include great tip and techniques. When things are explained in ways that give you choices for customizing recipes and make you understand what affect those customizations will have, it’s eye-opening. Dan Lepard’s latest book, Short and Sweet: The Best of Home Baking, is full of tips just like that. It was published in the UK in 2011, but the US version was just recently released. When I received a review copy, I couldn’t put it down. The Tips and Techniques at the beginning of each chapter not only give you details about ingredients, baking times, etc. they also lead you along the way to making your baked goods your own. For example, when you know how salt, sugar, and different liquids affect bread dough, you can start tweaking recipes for the results you want. In the cake chapter, there are so many recipes I want to try, I might just have to start at the beginning and bake my way through it. The Carrot, Orange and Pistachio Cake is a nice twist on classic Carrot Cake; the Coffee and Ricotta Marbled Cake includes a great tip to prevent it from sinking as it bakes; and I have to try the Marrakesh Express Loaf Cake made with coffee, cardamom, cinnamon, pomegranate syrup, and dates. There are cookies and crackers, doughnuts and crepes, frostings and variations on buttercreams, pies and tarts and steamed puddings, and candies like lovely caramels. And, somehow, after reading about all those delicious sweets and looking at all the tempting photos, I ended up making a savory recipe first. When I saw the page for these Black Olive Gourgeres, I realized it had been far too long since I last made gourgeres, and this version was very different from any I’d ever made. 

You start by quartering pitted Kalamatas and combining them with a minced garlic clove, some chopped, fresh rosemary, olive oil, and salt and pepper in a saucepan. Yes, these gourgeres are made with olive oil rather than butter. When the olive mixture comes to a boil, flour is added and stirred until it forms a ball. It’s at this point in the process of making choux paste that I usually take a tip from Ina Garten and transfer the dough to a food processor for mixing in the eggs. It’s much easier than beating them in by hand. However, with the nice chunks of black olives in this dough, I didn’t want the blade of the food processor to reduce them to tiny bits. I still took a lazy approach by mixing in the eggs one at a time with a hand mixer. Grated parmesan was mixed in as well. The size of the gourgeres is up to you, and the recipe includes baking times for smaller, olive-size ones and for larger tablespoon-size ones. I went with the larger size. I brushed the gourgeres with egg wash and sprinkled the tops with more grated parmesan before they went into the oven for about 25 minutes. 

They were puffy and light just as gourgeres should be, and the black olives and parmesan made them delightfully savory. These were perfect little treats to accompany a cocktail. In the section of the book on choux paste, there’s also an interesting suggestion for making the dough into tiny pea-size pieces for sprinkling over soup or salad like croutons. I wasn’t kidding about all the smart tips in this book. 

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Salt Cod, Orange, and Olive Salad

I have this one last citrus dish to sneak in here at the tail end of the season. This is from an article I cut from Delicious magazine two years ago, and the recipe is included on Taste.com. It’s one of those salads that look so pretty in the photo you know it’s going to taste great. I can’t help but be drawn to food like that. With several colors on a plate, there’s bound be a good mix of flavors as well. In this case, there are sweet, brightly-colored orange segments, briny and dark, black olives, pale and mild, soaked salt cod, peppery, pretty, green watercress, and some bite from skinny slices of red onion. I know some people fear that salt cod is going to be stinky or difficult to prep, but it really isn’t. I buy salt cod at Whole Foods that comes in a little wood box, and there’s no smell at all when it’s opened. I soak it in a bowl of cold water covered with plastic wrap that I leave in the refrigerator, and I change the water each day while soaking the fish for three days. The kind I buy is boneless and mostly skinless, so there’s very little work involved other than soaking. Once the salt is removed by soaking, the flavor is mild just like cooked fresh cod.

So, you do have to plan ahead when working with salt cod since it does need to be soaked for two to three days to remove the salt. For this dish, after the salt cod had soaked for a few days, it was then simmered in milk with parsley sprigs, thyme, and bay leaves. After the milk with herbs and salt cod came to a boil, it was left to sit, off the heat, to infuse for about 15 minutes. Then, the fish was removed and chilled in the refrigerator. While the fish chilled, the vinaigrette was made with garlic, sherry vinegar, white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and orange juice. To build the salad, chunks of the salt cod, thinly sliced red onion, orange segments, black olives, and watercress were tossed with the vinaigrette and then plated with parsley leaves. A mix of black olives is suggested, and I used some oil-cured black olives, black picholines, and some kalamatas.

Oranges and black olives are a classic pairing, and that fruity and briny combination was a lovely thing with the chunks of cod and fresh watercress and parsley. You have a great dish when all the components’ flavors go together so well and everything looks so good together at the same time.

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Israeli Couscous with Saffron, Olives, and Summer Vegetables

The problem with ignoring my ever-growing stack of new recipes to try is that eventually some of those recipes fall out of season. I can either wait until next year, or I can convert the dish into whatever works right now. This couscous dish is from the April issue of Vegetarian Times, and it was originally called Israeli couscous with saffron, olives, and spring vegetables. A simple swapping of eggplant and zucchini for the suggested peas and fennel made it all about late summer. The great flavor in the dish comes from finely chopped leek, wine, and saffron. This was a rare occasion in which I found myself with pasta and no cheese in sight, but I realized that’s perfectly fine when saffron is involved. The kalamata olives and fresh basil garnish gave it an added boost that also kept me from missing any cheese. Although I definitely didn’t serve the leftovers in stacks formed by a ring mold, I copied that presentation from the magazine photo for our first meal with this dish.

Once all the vegetables are chopped, this dish comes together very easily. While chopping, the water can be coming to a boil for the couscous. Leek, eggplant, zucchini, and garlic were sauteed in a large skillet as the couscous boiled. White wine was added followed by the cooked and drained couscous, diced fresh tomatoes, and saffron. Last, arugula leaves were added, seasoning was adjusted, and it was covered and left to sit for a few minutes. I formed stacks, but it could have been served in bowls, and it was topped with halved olives, basil chiffonade, and a drizzle of olive oil.

The saffron perfumed the dish well, and the fresh, seasonal vegetables were at their best. The chewy couscous was just a tad smaller than the diced pieces of vegetables, and the wilted arugula wound its way throughout the pasta. The olives were a great touch on top, and you should use your favorite kind here, and that goes for the olive oil that’s drizzled at the end too. Simple but fresh and flavorful, this is a dish I’ll keep modifying from one season to the next.

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Tapas, Part 2

I have two more tapas to continue the story from The New Spanish Table that I started other day. I would have loved to try the bacalao hash, but I haven’t found salt cod locally and will have to place an order online. The tuna-stuffed tomatoes and scallops with pistachio vinaigrette both sounded great too, but they’ll have to wait until our next tapas party. This time, I was determined to stuff some piquillo peppers, and try the black olive, anchovy, and caper spread. I was certain I had purchased piquillo peppers at my usual location of Central Market before, but of course, when I needed them this time they weren’t there. I called around and found they did have the lovelies at the south location of Central Market, so they were mine in the end. In the book, piquillos are described as “the caviar of capsicums.” The roasted, flat-packed peppers are mostly sweet with a little earthiness, and their small size makes them perfect for stuffing just a bite or two.

The stuffed piquillo recipe in the book is found under the title veal-stuffed piquillo peppers. In the intro to that recipe, von Bremzen explains that the classic version usually involves a stuffing of seafood with bechamel sauce, and she suggests alternate ideas instead of veal. I went the seafood route and made a shrimp stuffing. I chopped some shrimp, sauteed them in olive oil with a little chopped garlic, and then added a bechamel. Once cool, that mixture was stuffed into the piquillos, and the peppers were chilled in the refrigerator to set. Meanwhile, a sauce was made by sauteing finely chopped onion and garlic in olive oil, and to that, chopped piquillos and grated tomato were added. I’d never grated a tomato before, but you simply cut it in half, grate it on a box grater, and discard the skin. After the sauce with the tomato added had reduced, sweet and hot paprika and white wine were added. Last, a little cream enriched the sauce. Some of this sauce went into the bottom of a baking dish, the stuffed peppers were placed on top, and the remaining sauce was poured over the peppers. I should explain, an optional step in this recipe is to bread and fry the stuffed piquillos just before placing them in the baking dish with the sauce. I skipped that option and baked the naked, stuffed peppers in the sauce until warm. These little guys were delightful with chunks of shrimp in the smooth bechamel and the paprika and cream in the sauce. This was a plate and fork kind of tapa, and it was hands-down our favorite if we had to pick only one.

The olive spread was next. I already have a favorite black olive tapenade, but I wanted to try this one just to see how it compared. I was intrigued by the use of anchovy and a hard-cooked egg yolk here. The entire mixture included black olives, anchovies, capers, garlic, one cooked egg yolk, rum, yes rum, mustard, and olive oil. This was a rich and flavorful olive spread and the anchovies and rum gave it spunk. I like a good bit of parsley in an olive spread, so I sprinkled some on top. I already declared the stuffed piquillos our favorite item of the night, but there were no disappointments here. I’ll be making all of these again, and from now on whether I’m making this olive spread or my old stand-by, it will have some rum in it.

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