The first time I had Olive Tapenade I was on a business trip in Palo Alto. I experienced other ‘firsts’ that trip – riding in a Mercedes Benz taxi, visiting Trader Joe’s, and other things I’d best not mention…
I liked the taxi ride, but the tapenade and Trader Joe’s did nothing for me. The Olive Tapenade was completely outside of my frame of reference at the time (as were capers) – briny and puckerish (I know that’s not a word). Trader Joe’s was filled with processed food and held no allure for me either. My co-workers were confused – they thought they were introducing me to really cool things, but I was not impressed. I hope I wasn’t terribly rude. I didn’t like BBQ or blooming onions either, and my co-workers were crazy for those too.
But of course time passes and palates change. Now I’m happy to shop at Trader Joe’s whenever I get the chance. However, I wouldn’t buy Olive Tapenade at TJ’s when I can make it myself with fresh parsley, anchovies, garlic, lemon juice… I love to spread Olive Tapenade on sourdough with a schmear of cream cheese, for a satisfying meal any time of the day. It also delivers a lovely punch in pasta sauces or in tuna salad.
Olive tapenade
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup brined olives (a variety is nice)
- fresh parsley (enough to result in 1 1/2 T once chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 (or 5!) anchovy filets
- 3 T capers
- 3 T lemon juice
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Prep the ingredients – Unless you're confident that there are no pits in the olives, I'd give each olive a quick chop to be sure. Peel and smash the garlic. Chop the parsley.
- Process to chop evenly – Drop the garlic in to the food processor with the blade running and process until the garlic stops bouncing around inside the bowl. Scrape down the sides, then add everything else except the olive oil to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to chop.
- Add the olive oil – Drizzle in the olive oil and pulse a few more times until a chunky paste forms. Serve at room temperature.
