The recipe is completely scalable for any amount of tea or oil you have; I like to do an 8:1 ratio by volume. If you want it to be very concentrated, think like an enfleurage: infuse once, strain out the tea, and then infuse the oil a second time with new tea. And if you’re looking for avenues to experiment further, try some other oil you like the flavor of—perhaps a blend of grapeseed and sesame, some sweet and light olive oil, rich and dark-green pumpkin seed oil.
When I visited A Bolota, a lovely restaurant perched on the sweeping plains of the eastern Alentejo, this dip, called pate de azeitonas verdes, was brought to our table. As I nattered away with friends, I dipped, spread, and nibbled, until I realized I alone had eaten all of it. Later, when I became friendly with the cook, Ilda Vinagre, I watched her make it and was flummoxed when she whipped up its silky base: milk “mayonnaise”—whole milk whirred into a smooth consistency with the addition of vegetable oil. I serve this as a dip with a platter of crudites, alongside crackers or bread, or, sometimes, as a topping for grilled fish.—David Leite
Ingredients