Dollops and Spreads

If you have visited the winery, you have experienced our famous Muffaletta Olive Relish on the Tasting Room bar. This is just one of several olive relishes I make, always twisting ingredients for variation. Olives are a truly Mediterranean food that can be incorporated into so many cuisines that I never get tired of playing with them. In this section you will find other relishes, sauces and spreads to dollop on the side of grilled meats or use as a dip for vegetables and crackers.

Date Cilantro Chutney

This sweet and a little bit spicy chutney is a great side relish to a cheese plate of Manchego, aged goat cheese and Asiago. Spread a little on a baguette slice and top with a thin slice of cheese.

Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomato Spread

The combination of creamy tart goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and capers makes for a wine friendly spread on crackers or bread. We serve this often in the Tasting Room for special events. It pairs especially well with our Vin Gris d'Amador.

Green Herb Sauce

This bright green herb sauce is great with so many things. It gives a real lift to the Turkey Kefta. Pair it alongside some plain yoghurt or labneh.

Hand Chopped Olive, Pepper, and Caper Relish

This relish is chunky and flavorful. Use a chef knife to chop everything, since using a food processor will result in more of a paste. It is great tossed with pasta or added to a vegetable sauté. There is no anchovy in this recipe.

Mole Sauce

Mole sauce is the classic accompaniment to roasted or smoked turkey. See my recipe for the turkey under Grill It. Mole sauce is famous for having chocolate in it, but the chocolate is just one small ingredient. This sauce is a dark concoction of chiles, seeds, nuts and spices that is fragrant and a little bit spicy.

Pear, Fig and Ginger Chutney

In the fall there are pear and fig trees in my area that go begging for someone to pick them. Here is a little chutney to serve with roast pork loin or your Thanksgiving turkey.

Romesco Sauce

There are many variations of Spanish romesco sauce. My version uses smoked and unsmoked Spanish paprika instead of the dried chiles called for in many recipes. You can get smoked paprika from The Spanish Table and Penzey's Spices online.

Romesco Sauce in 10 Minutes

Home alone one night I was making a potato tortilla (sort of an omelette) for dinner. I wanted romesco sauce, the classic accompaniment, but I really didn’t want to haul out the food processor and make a batch just for me. So I invented this 10 minute version that you can make in a coffee grinder. (I keep an old one around just for grinding spices and nuts).

Rouille

In Provençe rouille, named for its rust color, is traditionally dolloped on bowls of seafood stew or steamed mussels. It can be substituted for any other mayonnaise when you want a little kick to your food. You can vary the spiciness by adjusting the amount of chile paste.

The Tasting Room Olive Spread

This is the olive spread we serve everyday in the Tasting Room. It is very easy to make. This is not a traditional tapenade (see my other olive relishes), but a loose version of the New Orleans muffaletta sandwich spread. Very savory, the ingredients are simple. Don't use anything but regular canned black olives. And don't be afraid of the anchovy - it blends right in.