Recipe - Tapenade Blanche

Three fourths pound Fennel bulb (up to 1)
25 Pitted green olives
(recommend Picholino
olives) (up to 30)
One fourth teaspoon Cayenne pepper
One half cup Cre'me fraiche (sour cream
is ok, but delute it with
some Half and Half for the
right flavor)
2 tablespoon Mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Lemon juice (fresh is
preferred)
Salt and pepper to taste
Pernod or other French
pastis aperitif to taste

(an anitelle syrup, such as Vedrenne, may serve as an nonalcoholic
substitute, in which case you should increase the lemon juice to off set
the sugar in the syrup)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the fennel bulb in half, removing the
short green stalks. (Retain the stalks.) Rub the bulb halves with salad
oil, place in a baking dish, and put in the oven at midlevel. Allow the
bulb to soften (use a cover) for about 40 minutes, longer if necessary.
Meanwhile, finely chop the green stalk and save One fourth cup. Remove the
softened fennel and let it cool. Then chop the fennel into coarse dice and
place in a food processor with the all purpose blade installed. Add the
pitted olives, cayenne, cre'me fraiche, mayonnaise and lemon juice. (Don't
forget to save the chopped stalks, and be sure Not to put them into the
processor.) Process the mixture until it produces a smooth spreadable
texturenot like peanut butter, but smooth nonetheless. Add more mayonnaise
and cre'me fraiche in a 1to4 proportion if you need more liquid to make
the mixture more spreadable, but don't let the mixture get too creamy.
Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Then add anywhere from 1 to 3
tablespoons of Pernod. The idea is to import a subtle suggestion of anise,
not to produce a licoriceflavored spread. Then add and blend in the
chopped fennel stalks by hand, not with the processor blade in a fresh
bowl. Serve after allowing to chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Add
more salt, if required. Then spread on toasted (optional) rounds of
baguette loaves. Melba toasts are surprisingly good for this. This is a
spread that contrasts nicely with Tapenade Noire.

Posted to FOODWINE Digest 12 Sep 96

From: Joe Ames ames@PROLOG.NET

Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 18:12:33 0400