Tapenade is yet another of those really delicious things that people my age, growing up in the ’50s and ’60s, never heard of until the last decade or two. Now you can get prepared jars of it not only in specialty food shops but almost any chain grocery store, too. This spread hails from Provence, France, and is made of finely chopped black olives, sometimes green ones also, plus a few capers, olive oil, garlic and usually some anchovies or anchovy paste. Thyme, basil or parsley appear in some recipes.
It is so good that you could just eat it with a spoon, but most people use it as an appetizer spread on crackers or bread, or they dip veggies in it.
What got me going on it was a recipe calling for it as an ingredient in a potato dish. Now, as you know, if I think I can make something cheaper myself, that is what I will do, and tapenade is one of those things. Not that I want to deprive a specialty food producer of a living but the ingredients are so easy to find and assemble that I can make buckets of it for the price of a little container full.
One thing that really makes a difference, though, is using good olives. I never liked ripe black olives until I met Kalamata olives about 20 years ago and thought, “Where have you been all my life?” Good olives are now relatively easy to find. Lots of stores have those olive bars where you can assemble a variety of blacks or greens, in oil or brine, herbed, hot and spicy or garlicky. The secret, though, is that many of the olives, especially the standard Kalamatas in brine or oil, are cheaper by the pound purchased in a jar in the pickle and olive section of the store. Look for yourself and choose as you wish.
The next thing to consider is whether you prefer pitted or unpitted. If you choose unpitted ones, you can remove the pit by smacking the olives flat with the broad side of a large knife and picking out the pit. Not too hard to do.
Keep your eyes open for large containers of capers, too. I get mine from a wholesale place in Rockland, and never, ever buy the skinny jars that only hold a few ounces. Capers are so handy and add such interesting flavor to all kinds of otherwise plain fish, chicken and vegetable dishes that I really hate to be without them.
So here are the tapenade instructions, and also a few good ideas for using the result.
Tapenade
Yields a cup to cup and a half.
¾ cup pitted black olives
1 clove garlic (more to taste)
2 tablespoonfuls well-drained capers
1 tablespoon lemon juice (more to taste)
Grated peel of half a lemon
½ teaspoon dry thyme
3-4 leaves fresh basil or parsley (optional)
¼ cup olive oil
Black pepper to taste
Process olives, garlic, capers, juice, peel and thyme in the bowl of a food processor until it is finely chopped. Add the oil gradually until you have a spreadable paste. Taste and add pepper (and salt) to taste. Store in a covered container in the fridge.
How to use tapenade:
1. Spread it on French bread or crackers as an appetizer.
2. Use in place of mayo in a chicken sandwich.
3. Add to scrambled eggs.
4. Add to sauteed spinach or Swiss chard.
5. Add to cooked pasta as speedy sauce.
6. Put on baked potatoes.
