Monica Buck

Farm Eggs With Tapenade

• 8 fresh farm eggs (free-range organic)
• 1/4 cup Tapenade (see recipe below)
• 1/4 cup homemade or high-quality commercial mayonnaise

1. Put eggs in a large saucepan; add water to cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 9 minutes. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water.
 2. When eggs are cool, peel and halve. Scoop out and mash yolks in a bowl with Tapenade and mayonnaise until thoroughly combined. Spoon or pipe mixture into the egg halves. Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve. Yield: 8 servings

Tapenade

This olive mixture is superb as a topping for crostini, a pungent sauce for grilled tuna, or an addition to deviled eggs. Even if you think you dislike anchovies, please give them a try―they are a distinctive but not at all overpowering seasoning here. 

• 8 ounces pitted Kalamata or Niçoise olives (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 small anchovy fillets, rinsed and patted dry
• 3 tablespoons capers, rinsed
• 1/2 small garlic clove, pounded to a paste in a mortar or very finely chopped then mashed
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 scant tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon brandy (optional)

1. Combine first 6 ingredients (through parsley) in a food processor, and pulse until the olives are coarsely chopped. Add the olive oil, and pulse until just combined. Add the brandy, if desired, and pulse to mix. Yield: 1 1/2 cups

(from Frank Stitt’s Bottega Favorita: A Southern Chef’s Love Affair With Italian Food, Artisan, 2008)

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