Black Olive Tapenade Topped Salmon

Olive trees abound in Provence in southern France, and everyone has his own recipe for the popular olive spread, called tapenade. The French make tapenade with either green or black olives and spread the zesty sauce onto rounds of bread for an appetizer. Visually, black olives are stunning. We love this recipe, which tops salmon with tapenade, adapted from our good friend, Anne Willan. Anne is an acclaimed international cookbook author and the founder of La Varenne Cooking School in Burgundy, France.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 12 minutes

Yield: 4 servings
1/4 cup cold water
 1  slice white bread
4 salmon fillets, skin off and pin bones removed, or steaks, 6 to 7 ounces each, about 1-inch thick
1 lemon
3/4 cup pitted oil-cured black olives, such as kalamata (10 ounces with pits)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons drained, rinsed capers
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 anchovy fillets
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pour 1/4 cup cold water over bread and set aside to soak. Place salmon in a single layer in a lightly oiled baking dish. Cut 4 thin slices from lemon and set the rest aside. For the tapenade, in a food processor, add olives, almonds, capers, garlic, and anchovies. Squeeze bread in your hands to extract the water, tear in thirds, and add to processor. Using the pulse button, coarsely chop the ingredients. With the machine running, slowly add oil until tapenade is a slightly chunky, stiff sauce. Add the juice from the remaining lemon and pepper to taste. Spread 2 tablespoons of tapenade over the top of each piece of fish and top with a lemon slice. You can serve the remaining tapenade with the salmon or refrigerate the tapenade for up to a week. Bake salmon, uncovered, for 10 to 12 minutes until the flesh of the salmon just begins to flake at the nudge of a fork.
 

Shortcut
You can substitute ready-made green or black olive spread for this tapenade. You'll need about 1/2 cup.

Microwave the salmon, if desired. Use a microwavable dish; cover with plastic wrap, leaving one corner open to vent. Cook 3 minutes on high, rotate dish, and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. For dinner for one, cook a single portion for 2 minutes.