Olive Oyster Puttanesca

Olive Oyster Puttanesca

My mother made little smoked oyster canapes for her card playing friends, but they didn’t like them, so I took them and improvised a puttanesca.   Not vegetarian, you say?  No – definitely not!  I’m not a strict vegetarian – I do eat fish, and I like the flavours things like anchovies and smoked oysters  bring to some dishes.

Saute together, in olive oil:

• 4 cloves garlic, diced 
• 1 small can smoked oysters (on small pieces of toast)
• 1 x 14oz can chopped green olives (or chop whole olives, keeping about a 1/3 aside to add whole)
• and about
  • 1/4 dried red hot chili
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed between your palms
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme

Saute this for about 10-15 minutes to allow the flavours to blend, then add

• 1 x 28oz can crushed tomatoes

Stir well, cover and leave on a slow simmer for about an hour.

Serve with your favorite pasta…

…rice, quinoa, baked potato

I once had a variation of this served over spaghetti squash!

Related articles

• Olive Lover’s Pasta aka Pasta Alla Puttanesca (vegcharlotte.wordpress.com)
• pasta puttanesca (whiskinglifeaway.com)
• Store cupboard puttanesca (gannetandparrot.com)
• Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca (acougarinthekitchen.com)

 

Olive Bread

Olive brine adds flavour, and higher water-to-flour ratio makes this a chewy, tasty loaf.

Yum!  Made this in ye olde bread machine!  Nice chewy crust. The recipes I selected from a Google search for Olive Bread, all used a higher water-to-flour ratio than my standard recipe, so I tried it. The extra water, and reduced flour makes for a chewier, denser loaf. These are the proportions and ingredients I used:

• Drain a 14oz (398 ml) can of sliced, black olives, reserve the liquid in a measuring cup
• Add warm water to reserved liquid to make 1 and 1/2 cups of water
• Add this liquid to the bread making pan

Add:

• 4 tsp olive oil
• 2 T brown sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 and 1/2 cups sifted flour ( I used 1/2 WW and 1/2 white)
• Add the sliced olives around the edge of the pan, leaving space in the middle to make a well in the flour to add:
  • 2 tsp yeast
• Set at Rapid (2 hours)
• Leave standing in the machine, with the lid closed for an extra 20-30 minutes after baking has completed, then remove from the pan and stand on wire mesh to cool.  Serve with butter.  Heaven.

I’m going to try this on a different setting next time – just to see what difference it makes – and add some rosemary with the olives, and a little coarse salt when the loaf is shaped.  It’s a tasty loaf as is, but I do think rosemary and salt will take it to the next level.   Great as is to serve with balsamic vinegar and olive oil dip, where the rosemary can be added, along with a small saucer of coarse salt.

Related articles

• Rosemary Olive Oil Bread (With Recipe Linky) (5minutesformom.com)
• Focaccia, Focaccia Bread & Rosemary Focaccia (williams-sonoma.com)