Green Olive Tapenade

This green olive tapenade uses one of my favourite olives, the Castelvetrano olive. So buttery, briny and sweet, I wanted to make a tapenade with them. I love these olives so much that I didn’t want to add any other olives to the recipe, as I wanted the Castelvetrano olive to shine bright as the star it is. I add some great ingredients to accompany the olives and really bring this tapenade to life. This is by no means a traditional tapenade recipe but I do use some ingredients that are found in traditional tapenade recipes. Serve with bread, cracker or use as a marinade, whatever you like. You will be telling your friends about this tapenade and they will tell their friends and their friends will tell their friends and so on and so on.

GREEN OLIVE TAPENADE WITH CASTELVETRANO OLIVES

Recipe by Mark Calaminici | Food Loves Company

Serves 4 (appetizer)

Ingredients

2 ½ cups (300g) Castelvetrano Olives, pitted and finely chopped.

2 tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 tbsp. of fresh lemon juice

Zest of half a lemon

1-2 tbsp. Capers, drained, rinsed and roughly chopped

1-2 Calabrian chilis, finely chopped

½ tbsp. fresh thyme, roughly chopped

1 anchovy, finely chopped or paste (optional)

½ clove garlic, minced or paste

Salt, to taste

Freshly cracked pepper, to taste

1-2 tbsp. Balsamic glaze

Extra virgin olive oil, to taste

Method

1. You can use a knife or a food processor for this recipe. If using a food processor, add all the ingredients except the extra virgin olive oil to the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until you get the consistency you are looking for, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add mixture to a mixing bowl along with extra virgin olive and mix to incorporate everything. Adjust any seasonings and serve.

2. If using a knife, chop everything to your liking. You will definitely have more control over the coarseness of the tapenade than the food processor. This is something I like, but, this won’t save you time. Leave tapenade for a few hours before serving for the flavours to mingle. Best served at room temperature and can last a couple weeks in the fridge. Serve with bread, crackers or use as a marinade, whatever you like. Enjoy