Olive Tapenade
Adapted from original recipe by Culinary Hill
INGRIDIENTS
- 1 & 1/2 cups pitted, brine-cured olives (see note 1)
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste or 2 anchovy filets, minced (see note 2)
- 3 tablespoons capers rinsed (see note 3)
- 1 & 1/2 tablespoons parsley coarsely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic roasted if desired (see note 4)
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup Rastrello Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
PREPARATION
- In a food processor, combine olives, anchovies, capers, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Pulse 2 to 3 times until coarsely chopped.
- Drizzle in olive oil and pulse a few more times until a chunky paste forms, scraping down the sides as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve at room temperature.
NOTES
- Olives: Seek out mild olives that have been cured in brine. We love Kalamata and Lucques olives but Picholines and Niçoise olives are also great choices. Use one kind or a combination of a few of your favorites.
- Anchovies: These add a fantastic savory, umami flavor to dishes. However, if you don’t want to buy and handle anchovies, you can use anchovy paste.
- Capers: Buy them brine-packed or salt-packed. The salt-packed ones have a more mild flavor. Rinse them off otherwise the flavor can be overpowering.
- Garlic: If you like the punch flavor of raw garlic, go for it! I love the mellow, slightly sweet element that roasted garlic offers to this olive tapenade. To roast the garlic, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the top off a bulb of garlic so the cloves are exposed. Set the bulb on a piece of foil large enough to wrap the bulb. Top the exposed cloves with olive oil and wrap the bulb tightly in foil. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until a knife slides easily in to the middle of the bulb.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 3 cups tapenade total, enough for 6 (1/2-cup servings).
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Olive tapenade is freezer friendly! Transfer to glass jars, leave ½ inch head space, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
