Mediterranean Olive Tapenade Recipe
Tapenade – An ode to Olives… à la Provençal, coming to you all the way from the south of France. Earthy, robust olives, capers, garlic and a few other flavorings just chopped or pureed with plenty of olive oil… Simple, quick, delicious and addictive.This Olive tapenade makes its way to such tables very very often. For its popularity and easy makeup, the host is happy and the guests are happy!!
If you love olives, this tapenade is for you! Satisfy your “salty tooth” with this simple and easy appetizer from the South of France!
YIELD: 2 CUPS
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
COOK TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups pitted olives, chopped (mix of black, green and kalamata)
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes in a jar, chopped
2 Tbsp capers, chopped
1 garlic, minced
½ fresh lemon, juiced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp red chili flakes
¼ cup parsley, chopped
8-10 basil leaves, chopped
Salt to taste (just a pinch as olives and capers are salty)
Pepper to taste
Instructions:
Finely chop olives, capers, sun dried tomatoes and fresh herbs.
Mix all together with minced garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, chili flakes.
Drizzle in olive oil and stir.
Taste and adjust for lemon juice and garlic.
Notes
You can make tapenade in matter of minutes in a blender instead of chopping manually. Simply put all ingredients except olive oil in the blender and pulse it few tines. Drizzle in olive oil and pulse more to get the desired chunkiness to your liking.
You can stir in more olive oil to make it a little thinner to sop up the goodness of olive oil with bread.
Some Great Variations
⭐Are you into anchovies? Many of the French versions do include a few anchovies. Just stir in 1-2 when you are blending the rest of the ingredients.
⭐In your regular tapenade blend, add in some nuts like walnuts, pistachios, blanched almonds or even pine nuts.
⭐Another great variation is to add in some figs for a little sweeter touch. It balances very well with the savory brininess.
⭐Add in fresh chopped cherry tomatoes. Or cook the olive mixture, along with tomatoes, for a few minutes.
You can just make mono colored tapenade using one type of olive.
Vary the amount of olive oil. Some days we douse the tapenade with more olive oil than others.
Storing Leftovers:
This is great in your refrigerator for up to two weeks in an airtight container. So it’s perfect to make a big batch and munch it on throughout the week in different ways. In no time you will want to keep a jar in your fridge all the time.
Nutritional Info:
Yield: 8/Serving Size1
Calories109Total Fat11gSaturated Fat1gTrans Fat0gUnsaturated Fat9gCholesterol0mgCarbohydrates5gFiber2gSugar1gProtein1g