A powerful side dish with sweetness, acidity and umami. It’s full of flavours and aromas plus it’s easy to make. If you omit the pancetta, it will also combine very well with grilled fish.

Green olives are olives that are harvested when not yet ripe. Ideal for olive oil. After curing the green ones are bitter and firm. Black olives are olives harvested when ripe. They are sweeter and softer compared to the green ones. They also bring umami to the combination. By using both green and black olives you will have all these aspects in one dish.

Wine Pairing

We enjoyed our Beef with Tomato, Olive and Caper Sauce with an organic red wine from Italy, made by Terra Viva. The wine is made with Sangiovese grapes from the Marche area. It has a Ruby red colour, aromas of red fruit, mild tannins and subtle acidity.
In general, you’re looking for a bold, dry red wine with a long finish.

What You Need

• 1 small Shallot
• 1 Garlic Clove
• 10 Green
• 10 Black Olives
• 1 Tomato
• 4 slices of Pancetta (optional)
• 2 teaspoons of Capers in brine
• Thyme
• One tablespoon of Red Wine Vinegar
• Black Pepper

What You Do

1. Chop the shallot and the garlic
2. Quarter or halve the olives
3. Drain capers using kitchen paper
4. Chop the tomato in 16
5. Cut the slices of pancetta in 10 (depending on the size)
6. Heat a heavy iron skillet and add olive oil
7. Fry the pancetta
8. Reduce heat
9. Add shallot and glaze
10. Add garlic clove and leave for one minute
11. Add olives, capers, thyme and red wine vinegar
12. Wait for a few minutes before adding the tomatoes
13. Leave on very low heat, the tomato should be warm and not cooked
14. Taste and adjust, perhaps add some black pepper or red wine vinegar
15. Serve the sauce with excellent (medium-) rare beef

PS

Not sure if we should call it a sauce, or a (warm) salsa, it’s more like a very tasty side dish!