When I offer
tapenade to people most of the time they ask me what it is. I instantly feel
sorry for their taste buds for having gone through life without having met this
delicious olive spread before. It comes
from Provence and usually consists of pureed or finely chopped olives, capers,
anchovies and olive oil.
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| Tasty green Spanish olives. |
I have been
making my own vegetarian versions of this spread since I was a student. I used
to treat myself occasionally to a small pot of black olive or green olive tapenade
from the luxury range at a local supermarket. One little pot would bring me so
much pleasure, it really packs a punch and I would enjoy it on toasted granary
bread or in sandwiches (especially good with mature cheddar and crispy salad
leaves). To this day one of my favorite meals is a big bowl of home-made soup
served with crusty bread, a nice sharp cheese and tapenade.
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| Lime brings this recipe to life. |
One day when
the supermarket didn’t have any jars in stock I thought I’d make my own. I
didn’t look up a recipe as I’d read the ingredients list on the jar enough
times so thought I’d improvise. It turned out great and I’ve been making my own
ever since. It is super easy and quick to make, you don’t really need to
measure anything and you can add more or less of things to taste. I am always
experimenting with slightly different flavor combinations and they nearly always
work and I usually have the ingredients needed to whip up a batch in the
fridge.
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| Shallots add flavor and crunch. |
Yesterday I
had a few moments to spare so whipped up a batch of one of my favorite tapenades
before lunch. I have some great half pint mason jars so I usually make enough
to fill one and it keeps in the fridge for at least a week in these. Believe me
you have to try this. Friends are always asking me where I’ve bought it when
they eat it at my house and are amazed when I tell them how easy it is to
make.
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| Freshly minced garlic. |
Ingredients
Green olives
(approximately 200g)
A couple of
cloves of garlic (peeled and minced)
1 large red
chilli (deseeded)
2-3 shallots
Juice of one
small lime or half a large one
Some fresh
parsley and fresh coriander
A couple of
glugs of a good olive oil
Seasoning to
taste
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| Chuck everything in the food processor at once. |
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| I like my tapenade coarsely chopped. |
Method
Throw
everything into a food processor and blend until it ‘s all coarsely chopped or
place in a bowl and use a hand held stick blender. Taste and if you want to add
a bit more of anything do so now. Transfer to an air-tight container and store
in the fridge. If you’re anything like
me half of it will have been eaten before it makes it to the fridge!
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| Can't resist a bite! |
I usually
squeeze a bit more lime on the tapenade when I spread it on bread or toast.
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| Enjoy! |
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” -Virginia Woolf
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