In food, ripeness is all, perhaps, but there are still a few dishes that depend upon unripe fruits and vegetables for their distinctive taste. In the South and elsewhere, of course, there are green tomatoes, used in relishes and jams and often breaded in cornmeal and fried.
In tropical cuisines, there are scores of chutneys and salads that play off the firm texture and mild flavor of unripe mango or green papaya.
There’s verjus, a slightly tart liquid extracted from unripe grapes that was widely used in the Middle Ages and has made a comeback in recent years with chefs who believe that the tang of vinegar and lemon juice interferes with the proper pairing of food and wine.
And there’s my favorite unripe fruit, green olives. Black or brown olives, which are the ripe fruit of the olive tree, have a softer texture and an oilier, sweeter flavor than firm, astringent green olives. (Both, of course, are completely inedible until they’re cured, as anyone who’s been unfortunate enough to sample an olive right off the tree will tell you.)
A traditional tapenade is made with nothing but olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil, mashed to a rough paste in a mortar and pestle. For my tapenade I use a food processor and mild, lemony Sicilian green olives. I balance the saltiness of this dish with lemon zest, sherry vinegar and sundried tomatoes, and add a little sharpness with some diced red onion. I season my tapenade with a pinch of chili flakes and toasted fennel seed but if you are using olives that have been cured with hot pepper, or simply don’t like the added spice, leave it out.
Try this with swordfish or grilled pork, or as a starter with a few pieces of lightly charred sourdough.
John Broening cooks at Duo restaurant, .
Green Olive Tapenade
Do not pit the olives too far ahead of time or they will oxidize and give the tapenade an unpleasant brownish color. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
Ingredients
1 cup Castelvetrano olives
6 sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
4 anchovies
2 tablespoons capers
Zest of 2 lemons
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1 teaspoon toasted fennel seed
Pinch chili flakes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
Few grinds black pepper
Directions:
Pit the olives. Place the pitted olives in a food processor and coarsely chop. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Place the sun-dried tomatoes, anchovies and capers in the food processor and coarsely chop. Fold the sund-ried tomato mixture into the green olives. Fold in the remaining ingredients. Serve at room temperature with grilled bread or crackers.
