Every once in a while, a little kitchen magic happens: something takes five minutes to make and becomes exactly what I want for lunch or a light dinner. Mixed olive tapenade is one of those magical concoctions.
Olives are basically meat in my book. They’re plump, fleshy and filling. And full of health benefits, I eat olives without guilt.
And capers . . . I love them so much that Santa puts a large jar in my stocking every Christmas. We eat them on piccata, in tuna salad and with bagels and lox. Here, their sharp, briny bite is the perfect complement to the olives.
My secret ingredient is anchovy paste. My giants would give this a deeply suspicious look if they knew, but a little adds a complex savory depth without making the tapenade taste fishy. It’s what makes the whole thing work.
Give everything a few pulses in the food processor with good olive oil, then spoon it into a bowl and serve with crackers or homemade garlic crostini.
My giants had Alfredo for dinner tonight. I had tapenade. Or planned to, until I discovered how little was left from the weekend. Apparently, Jon really loves it, too.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 heaping cup pitted Kalamata olives, drained
- ½ heaping cup pitted green olives, drained
- 2 tablespoons capers, drained
- 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped1
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed. Use a goodd finishing olive oil if you have it, as the flavor really does make a difference.
Instructions
- Combine the olives, capers, garlic and anchovy paste in a food processor. Pulse until roughly chopped.
- Add the lemon juice and olive oil. Pulse briefly until combined into a coarse, spreadable mixture, rather than a smooth purée. (See picture below.)
- Taste and adjust with more lemon juice or a little extra olive oil. Don’t skimp on the olive oil. It binds all the flavors. You probably won’t need salt.
- Allow the tapenade to sit 30 minutes before serving so the flavors marry.
- Serve with your homemade crostini. Makes about 2 cups.
