THE TAPENADE’S ORIGIN, tapenade, a traditional Provençal gastronomic dish, is shockingly new. Chef Meynier of the Marseille restaurant La Maison Dorée devised it in 1880.
The original tapenade recipe calls for black olives, capers, anchovies, olive oil, and sometimes garlic and spices (but only in small amounts)!
This is the black tapenade, a closely guarded recipe. Tapenade” can only be used if the recipe adheres to a specific composition and quantities.
You must have at least:
- 70 percent black olives
- capers (3%
- Anchovy 0.5%
- Extra virgin olive oil (exclusively olive oil)
- And no more than 5% finely ground aromatics.
Later, the green tapenade arrived. The taste varies widely, with everyone favoring one tapenade over the other.
The formula for green tapenade is likewise strictly adhered to.
It must include at least:
- 70% olives (green)
- capers (3%
- Anchovy 0.5%
- Extra virgin olive oil (exclusively olive oil)
It is OK, however, to add a few drops of lemon and almond powder to keep the acidity of the green olives without making it forceful.
The other recipes are olive creams rather than tapenades
But how did the name TAPENADE come about?Tapenade is derived from the Provencal word “Tapen,” which meaning capers, the second most important element in tapenade.
How should Tapenade be consumed?
Tapenade, whether black or green, is best consumed as an aperitif spread on toast.
It can also be used as a pie crust or in salads in the summer.
Discover some recipes using our On the Shepherd’s Path tapenades:
- Tartine Provençale:
- Tapenade crackers:
- Apéritif tiny croissants:
- Noel sapin feuilleté:
- Tapenades Sur le Sentier des Bergers are created in Provence using ancient recipes.
- They come in two sizes: 90g and 180g (for the most greedy)
- Here they are: