Olive Tapenade – A Couple Cooks

This olive tapenade recipe is a straightforward appetizer stuffed with daring, briny taste! Serve this French unfold with bread or on crostini.

In terms of easy and satisfying appetizers, this one’s on the high of our listing. This Olive Tapenade recipe takes simply 5 minutes and explodes with pure Mediterranean taste! This conventional French unfold is made with olives and capers, and the salty, briny taste is otherworldly. Unfold a smear on bread or a crunchy crostini, and the savory pop transports you proper to the South of France. This straightforward appetizer is ideal for anytime, although we adore it finest in the summertime for straightforward dinners and picnics.

Components in olive tapenade

Tapenade is a standard French unfold made with olives, capers and anchovies that originated within the Provence area of Southern France. It’s a preferred French meals eaten on bread or crostini, or as a sandwich unfold, with fish, and different methods. The phrase tapenade comes from the French phrase tapenas, which implies capers. Olive spreads much like tapenade are in style in different Mediterranean cuisines as nicely, like Italian and Greek (a Greek variation is known as pasta elias).

Tapenade offers me fond recollections discovering this tasty unfold on a visit to Southern France, and it’s a meals that’s all the time given me carefree, summer time vibes. Listed here are the components in a basic French tapenade recipe:

• Olives: conventional are French Niçoise olives; they’re exhausting to seek out within the US so we like a mixture of Kalamata and ripe black olives
• Capers
• Anchovy paste (optionally available)
• Garlic
• Parsley
• Olive oil

Varieties of olives to make use of

Historically a tapenade recipe makes use of French Niçoise olives, however they’re exhausting to seek out right here within the US. Kalamata olives are a detailed substitute, however they’ve a stronger taste. So, we like utilizing a combination of olives right here to spherical out the flavour! Right here’s what to search for:

• Use a mixture of pitted ripe black olives and Kalamata olives. These olives have a milder, rounder taste to steadiness out salty Kalamata olives. Search for the cans which have complete olives.
• You should use all Kalamata olives for those who like, however understand that it makes a fair saltier, extra one-note unfold. We suggest a mixture if in any respect doable.
• Or, use no matter olives are your favourite! Castelvetrano olives are a favourite inexperienced olive of ours, and it makes a pleasant distinction to the darkish purple Kalamata.

Use anchovy paste for conventional, or omit for vegan

Olive tapenade is historically made with anchovies, so we’ve known as for anchovy paste right here. Nonetheless, you possibly can completely depart it out and it’s simply nearly as good! Listed here are some notes on working with anchovy paste:

• Anchovies are a standard Mediterranean ingredient that provides daring, savory taste to recipes. For instance, it’s a basic ingredient in Caesar dressing.
• You could find anchovy paste in your native grocery in a tube, then retailer it in your fridge for as much as 18 months.
• Omit anchovy paste for vegan! If you happen to’d like, you possibly can add a bit extra salt to compensate for the saltiness of the anchovies. However relying on the kind of olives you utilize, you might not want it.

How one can serve tapenade

All it’s important to do to make tapenade? Mix up the components in a meals processor. In simply 5 minutes, you could have an excellent unfold that’s fully versatile for appetizers, sandwiches, and extra. (Actually, My finest pal not too long ago threw a celebration for me with Salmon Caesar Salad and crostini with tapenade and it was perfection!) Listed here are a couple of methods to serve olive tapenade:

How do you propose to your use your tapenade? Tell us within the feedback under.

Easier appetizer recipes

Throwing a celebration? Or just need a tasty appetizer or pre-meal snack? This tapenade recipe is ideal for straightforward summer time entertaining or as fast finger meals. Listed here are a couple of extra straightforward appetizer recipes you’ll love: