Tapenade is a taste of the south of France. Made from olives it’s served as a snack with aperitifs and added to stews and dishes to give them flavour.
Both unripe, green, olives and ripe, black olives, are used to make tapenade either separately or even together. Black olive tapenade has a light taste and is oilier, while green olive tapenade is sharper.
Here’s how to whip up a simple green olive tapenade…
Ingredients
160g (just under 1 cup) pitted green olives
5 anchovies (optional)
1-2 cloves of garlic (according to taste)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon thyme (optional)
1 teaspoon capers
Dash of lemon juice
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Method
Put the green olives and garlic in a bowl and blend until you get a coarse mixture.
Add the olive oil, capers, lemon juice, thyme and anchovies (if you’re using them) and mix for about 15 seconds. It’s not actually green, more of a light brown colour by now.
The tapenade is ready to serve.
Keep it in a tightly sealed jar in the fridge, covered with olive oil.
How to make black olive tapenade