Construction on the new Black Olive is nearly complete, and the new year will see the opening of new possibilities for food lovers in the area.  From the hand selected olive oil that we use, to the cheeses, wines and breads that the restaurant serves, customers will now be able to buy all of the ingredients to bring Black Olive cuisine into your own homes.

The food at the Black Olive has an extensive back story.  It is a story about family, history, the building of a business in the City of Baltimore.  And there are more recipes than you can shake a stick at.  This blog will begin to document some of the back story and some of the recipes that have put the Black Olive on the map.  

Classic Greek Vegetable Soup 

This soup is wonderful served with our freshly baked Black Olive bread. 

1 cup of olive oil

6 cloves of garlic finely diced

5 onions chopped

8 carrots, cut into cubes

8 celery sticks, cut into cubes, include leaves

5 large potatoes peeled and diced

6 quarts of good homemade vegetable stock

1 #10 can of diced tomatoes

1 cup of freshly chopped parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Chunks of feta cheese to serve with the soup. 

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil, add the onions, when lightly browned, add the garlic and continue sauteing for a few minutes.

Add carrots, celery and cook for about 5 minutes, add the potatoes, stir and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Add the vegetable stock, the canned diced tomatoes and stir, increase heat until soup simmers and let simmer for about one hour. Add the parsley, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve very hot, sprinkled with feta cheese.

Black Olive Kakavia

Recipe created by Pauline Spiliadis, Executive Chef, Black Olive

Restaurant, Baltimore, Md.

It is said that this soup was brought to Marseilles by Greek seafarers around 600 B.C.

The French version of this dish is known as bouillabaisse and is served with a dollop of

rouille. Both in France and in Greece as around the rim of the Mediterranean sea, there

are as many versions of kakavia and bouillabaisse as there are fish in the sea. Many

recipes are based on local preference and availability of ingredients. At the Black Olive

we use fresh Mediterranean fish, flown in for this purpose, but substitutions of a good

variety of locally available fish such as grouper, mullet, rockfish, and any other whitefleshed

salt water fish will yield good results, so long as the fish is not too oily. It is said

that you must use at least six different fish for the stock. Important in the creation of this

dish are the use of the finest and freshest ingredients and a good variety of fish.

Step one:

For the stock:

Approximately 6 lbs. of a combination of the following fish: rascasse, rouget, St. Pierre,

moray eel, sea bass, snapper, loup de mer, grondin. See above for substitutions. Fillet the

fish; cut the fillets into large chunks, set aside and refridgerate, we will use these for the

final dish. Use the heads and bones for the stock.

1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil, cold pressed

3 carrots cut up into large pieces

10 cloves of garlic chopped

3 large onions chopped

1 bunch of leeks chopped

1 fennel bulb chopped, reserve the feathery tops for decoration

make a generous bouquet of garni using: sprigs of thyme, oregano, parsley and several

bay leaves.

1 tablespoon of whole peppercorns

1 gallon of water

1 quart of white wine

add sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. of saffron crumbled

In a large stockpot heat the olive oil, add chopped onions and garlic. Sauté until just

golden, add chopped celery, chopped fennel and chopped leeks, sauté another minute or

so, add the fish bones and fish heads, then add the gallon of water, the bouquet of garni,

carrots and the peppercorns. Cover, bring to a boil and reduce the heat, simmer for about

1 1/2 hours. Add the wine and saffron and bring back to a boil, correct seasoning. Turn off

heat, let cool for a little while. Strain the stock through a fine sieve to remove bones, etc.

You are now left with a beautiful fragrant stock.

Step 2:

The Rouille:

2 large red peppers roasted over a flame, scrape off the charred skin and the seeds.

5 cloves of garlic

5 slices of country bread soaked in a little of the fish stock

a pinch of saffron

1/4 tsp. of sea salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, cold pressed

Place first 6 ingredients into food processor. With motor running add the olive oil slowly.

This should make a wonderful paste to spread onto the toasted or roasted slices of crusty

country bread, which are placed into the kakavia, when you do the final assembly.

Step 3:

1 large loaf of crusty country bread cut into 8 slices. Either toast or roast on a grill on both

sides and set aside.

Step 4:

For the final assembly of the kakavia you will need the following:

The fish stock from step 1

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, cold pressed

3 cloves of garlic chopped

1 cup of chopped scallions

4 large fresh tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped, (canned plum tomatoes are fine to use

also)

1 cup of chopped fennel

12 small red bliss potatoes, scrubbed and cut into small cubes

an assortment of shellfish, enough to divide among the 8 servings, such as clams, mussels

scrubbed and debearded, lobster tails, shrimp, live bay scallops and langoustines

the reserved chunks of fish

pinch of saffron

1/2 cup of ouzo

In a good size heavy pot heat the olive oil, add the garlic and briefly sauté; add the shell

fish and toss; add the scallions, the potato cubes, the chopped tomato and enough of the

fish stock to make 8 large servings. Put a lid on the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer just

long enough to cook the potatoes and fish chunks through. Add a pinch of saffron and the

1/2 cup of ouzo.

Have ready 8 very large warmed soup bowls and divide up the shellfish and fish chunks

and broth. Insert a slice of the rouille topped toasted country bread and a sprig of the

reserved feathery top of the fennel into each bowl.

Enjoy!