Tapenade

Jean-Pierre Correard

Tapenade is a classic Provençal dish. It's a purée of olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil. Its name comes from the Provençal word tapenas (capers). It's a very popular hors d'oeuvre dip in the south of France. It's usually spread on bread but can also be used with fish or to stuff poultry for a main course.

We couldn't not list a tapenade on our shop, it's a classic and we've been looking for a producer who makes the perfect tapenade following the traditional recipe. We decided to work with Jean-Pierre Correard, a small independent olive farmer near Mt Ventoux. Jean-Pierre is few miles away from Nyons, famous town for its delicious black olives. In his tapenade, he uses exclusively black AOP (protected geographical indication) Nyons olives from his production. He and his family have been cultivating olive trees for decades in this region. Nyons black olives variety, called Tanche, is just perfect for the Tapenade because of its generous size, its soft and fruity flavour.

In this tapenade, the alchemy between the olives, capers, anchovies and olive is just perfect. Its texture is very soft so it can be easily spread on a toast or fish fillet. It is almost on the sweet side and it doesn't have an overpowering taste. It will be enjoyable by most because there's no garlic in it.