Gothic Black Olive Tapenade

Yesterday morning thunder and lightning at woke me up.  The day began overcast and drizzly, but by the afternoon the sunshine was out and it was lovely and relatively dry.  

I picked up some bread from the farmers market - my fortnightly foodie treat, so not to waste it and enjoy it whilst still fresh.  It was suggested to me by D to make some spreads and dips.  I've shared the recipe for chickpea hummus (and different ingredient combinations  such as wild garlic, courgette and beetroot before), but never olive tapenade.  I am not sure why not, as I've made both green and black tapenade a number of times, since starting this blog. 

I first had tapenade when I went to Turkey with my in-laws and their friends.  It was often offered as a complimentary dish, a bit like bread sticks.  I remember sitting at a Turkish restaurant and someone said 'I don't like olives'.  I responded 'do you know that the tapenade your tucking into is made from olives'.  His response with a big smile right back at me ' Oh, then I guess I must like olives then'.   I understand where he was coming from, because the first time an olive passed my teenage lips I spat it right out and never tried it again until my adult days, when my tastes were becoming more adventurous.  Between the two though, I have to admit green olives are my preference.  

Anyway, back to the black olive tapenade.  A jar of black olives was lurking at the back of my fridge, opened a few weeks back when I made D a pasta dish with black olives for his working lunch. Unsure what else to do with it, I was prompted by D to make tapenade.  Tapenade - green or black costs a fair bit if picked up from the deli or shop, so why not make your own at home.  This one is vegetarian and vegan too, many of the shop bought ones contain anchovies.  It will keep in the fridge for two weeks.  Its quite versatile too, not just for spreading on fresh bread, try it on toasted bread too; or even with pasta.

We have been enjoying the Black Olive Tapenade over the weekend with some artisan bread from Tortoise Bakery.  I picked up two loaves: a savoury one with sunflower and pumpkin seeds (right) and a sweet one with apricots and figs (left) and an Italian loaf that was kindly bestowed upon us for free. Thank you.  

I am sharing this with Credit Crunch Munch hosted by Lancashire Food, it is an idea initiated by Fab Food For All and Fuss Free Flavours.

Black Olive Tapenade
For sharing
You will need a food processor for this recipe
Ingredients
220g pitted black olives
80g capers in brine, rinsed
Handful of fresh parsley leaves, including stalks, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
180ml - 200ml olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz to a coarse paste, not a puree as you want some texture.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary and blitz again very briefly. Transfer to a bowl and chill until required.  Adapted from Leiths Vegetarian Bible.

Previously on A2K - A Seasonal Veg Table
2011 Wild Rice and Parsnip Risotto
2011 Malaysian Black Pepper Tofu 
2013 Lemon Thyme and Black Rice Risotto 
2013 Black Rice and Butternut Squash Fritters
2014 Fennel and Black Olive Risotto