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Friday, January 28, 2011

Mixed Olive Tapenade


As I posted recently, I have cured some olives at home. The only trouble was there were a lot of them, and they turned out to olives which are not a particular favorite (Manzanilla are the Spanish olive easily found in any store stuffed with a red pimento). Not the end of the world, but not my chosen olive for eating as a snack. I immediately thought of making some tapenade to put them to good use.

When I spied this recipe I knew I had a winner. It is a nice mix of a variety of olives plus with the addition of the basil and roasted red pepper it props up the briney-ness of the olives and adds some sweetness. It was perfect for the array of small plates I put out for company who came to watch the Golden Globes a few weeks ago.

Quick and easy, tapenade is always a great way to use up a mix of olives that look like they're past their viewing prime. Tossing in some herbs and lemon brightens it all up and whether you serve it with corn chips or crackers or toasted pita, it always packs a savory punch!

Three Olive Tapenade


1/2 cup olive cured black olives, pitted
1/2 cup manzanilla olives, pitted (or if you're using the green ones with pimentos, included them)
1 cup large green olives, pitted
1 bell pepper, roasted and cut into 1" pieces
4-5 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup parsley, loosely chopped
1/2 cup basil, loosely chopped
3 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers
5 tablespoons olive oil

Put the olives, capers, garlic and peppers into a food processor and pulse in 1 second intervals 10-15 times. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and serve.

Hugs!

Recipes currently inspiring me:


Bacon Jam and Cheese Panini at The Perfect Pantry
Moroccan Chick Pea Barley Salad at Eats Well With Others
Roasted Garlic Lemon Ginger Carrots at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

3 comments:

The Food Hunter said...

Served with some nice crusty bread...this is a winner

Joanne said...

I love tapenade with it's briny delicious flavors. This looks wonderful!

Susan said...

My mouth always waters when I see olives. I could eat up that entire bowl. Seriously.