Olivada: Spanish Olive Pate

• Vegetarian

• Produce

  • 2 small cloves Garlic
  • 1 Herb, Fresh
  • 1/2 Red onion
  • 8 Sun dried tomatoes

• Condiments

  • 500 g Black and green olives, good quality

• Baking & Spices

  • 1 1/2 g Agar agar
  • 1/2 tsp Salt

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 2 cups Oil
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1/2 cup Red wine vinegar

• Bread & Baked Goods

  • 1 Baguette or crusty bread

Found on cilantroandcitronella.com

Description

Ingredients

• Half a red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 500 grams (18 oz) good quality black and green olives
• 8 – 10 sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)
• 2 small cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Fresh herb of choice (basil, parsley, cilantro, etc.), for garnish
• A baguette or crusty bread, sliced and toasted
• 1.5 grams (0.05 oz) agar agar
• 1/3 cup plus 1.5 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or any other type of vinegar)
• 2 cups of oil

Directions

• Pulse the onions in a food processor until finely diced. If they are quite spicy, put them in a bowl and cover with cold water while you prepare the other ingredients.
• Pit the olives if necessary and pulse them along with the sun dried tomatoes in the food processor. You can leave them a bit chunky like mine or processes them into a paste with a tablespoon or two of olive oil.
• Drain the red onion and combine them in a bowl with the olives, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, and salt. You can add a bit of olive oil if you want, I didn’t add any. Garnish with fresh herbs and vinegar caviar balls and serve with toasted bread.
• Put the oil into the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour until it is almost to the point of freeing. If it starts to freeze around the edges, give it a stir.
• If using agar agar powder, put the vinegar into a small pot over medium heat and add the agar. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the agar has fully dissolved - 5 to 10 minutes.
• If using agar strings/threads, soak the agar in 1/4 cup of water for 30 minutes and put the vinegar in a small pan. Put the agar and water into a small pot over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the agar has fully dissolved. When the agar is beginning to dissolve, turn the heat on under the vinegar and bring it to a simmer. Pour the dissolved agar into the heated vinegar, stirring constantly.
• Take the vinegar and agar mix off the heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes while stirring constantly. When it feels like it’s beginning to thicken, take your oil from the freezer and pour it into a tall glass. Put some vinegar into your dropper or squeeze bottle and start dropping it into your cold oil. Depending on the size of the hole in your bottle, one drop will make caviar-sized balls, 3 drops in the same place will make pearl-sized balls. I recommend working with a small amount of vinegar at a time to develop your technique and putting the remaining vinegar over low heat to prevent it from solidifying while you work.
• If your balls are deformed it could be that your vinegar is still too hot or your oil isn’t cold enough. If your vinegar gets sticky before you’re finished, put it back into the pot and warm it slightly.
• Strain the caviar from the oil and rinse under cold water.

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