Title: Ruby Tandoh's Black Olive And Almond Biscuits
Categories: Biscuits
Yield: 20 Biscuits
50 g Toasted flaked almonds; +2
-tb
125 g Plain flour
25 g Parmesan; finely grated
75 g Unsalted butter; cold, cubed
100 g Black kalamata olives;
-drained and patted dry
As far as after-dinner snacks go, you could do worse than these
elegant, simple biscuits. Because the olives are blitzed to a paste,
they leave the biscuits a charcoal grey colour a smart backdrop to
the flakes of toasted almond. These really are very easy to make:
Keep a close eye on them while they're in the oven: such thin
biscuits burn easily. If you must serve them with something, make it
a soft, mild goats' cheese, but they're delicious just as they are.
Put 50 g flaked almonds into the bowl of a food processor with the
flour and a pinch of salt. Pulse several times until the almonds are
finely chopped. Tip in the parmesan and pulse again until the cheese
and almonds are evenly distributed throughout the flour. Add the
butter to the mixture and pulse until the whole thing resembles
course breadcrumbs. At this point stop whizzing and tip the almond
mixture into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
Throw the olives into the food processor and blitz to a rough paste.
Add the olive paste to the flour and almond mixture and, working
quickly with a bread knife, mix the two together until fully
incorporated. The almond mixture will have black olive flecks running
through it. Get your hands in and bring the mixture together,
squeezing gently as you go to form a firm but pliable dough. Add a
drop or two of water if your dough doesn't want to come together.
Wrap the dough in parchment or clingfilm. Chill it for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Line a large
baking tray with baking parchment.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Then cut out shapes
you can use any shape cutter, but I use a 6 to 7 cm round cutter and
arrange on the prepared baking tray. If there isn't enough space for
all of the biscuits, you may have to bake them in two batches: just
keep the remaining biscuits chilled in the meantime.
Press a few pieces of the flaked almond from the remaining 2 tb into
the top of each biscuit, then bake in the preheated oven for 12
minutes. These are delicious as a savoury snack, and especially good
with a glass of wine.
