Tapenade (Olives and Capers)

A perfect cocktail-hour offering — savory and redolent of lemon, thyme, and garlic.

Have ready:

2 cups olives, pitted and rinsed
3 anchovy filets (optional)
3 tbs. capers, drained
3 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
zest of one lemon
2 tbs. fresh lemon juice (or scotch)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbs. fresh thyme
2 tbs. plain bread crumbs (more as needed)
black pepper to taste

About the olives: Choose them carefully. Salty olives will make the tapenade seriously salty. If they are sold as pitted, be sure to examine each one, squeezing or slicing in half. One rogue olive with a pit can ruin the entire batch, and there’s usually one or two. Kalamata olives work best or try a mixture. Rinse them to remove any excess salt.

Put the garlic, thyme, lemon zest, and bread crumbs (panko is a good choice) into a food processor and blast away until the consistency is like sand. This is particularly important for the thyme leaves.

Add all the remaining ingredients and process into a coarse paste. Add bread crumbs if the mixture seems too thin. It should not drip from crackers or crudités.

Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator. To serve, fill a ramekin and set it on a platter with crudités, crackers, and/or good, crusty French bread.