Marjoram Pesto With Capers and Olives

Ingredients

• 1 small slice country bread
• 2 tbs. aged red wine vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup marjoram leaves
• 3 tbs. drained capers
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1 cup finely chopped parsley
• 2 tbs. pitted Greek olives
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Remove the crusts from the bread, then soak the bread in the vinegar on a plate.
2. Pound the garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a mortar until smooth, then work in marjoram, capers, pine nuts, parsley and olives, until you have a coarse purée.
3. Add the bread and the olive oil and work until the pesto is well amalgamated.
4. Season with pepper, taste for vinegar, and add a little more if you think it needs it. The pesto will be very thick.

This recipe has been excerpted from Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America’s Farmers’ Markets by Deborah Madison (Broadway Books, 2008).