Tapenade - Quick And Easy Home Made Dip

Well, you had better like olives - no, make that love olives if you are going to make and eat this.  I have to say I am not a huge fan of tapenade, but making it yourself adds a piquancy for sure.  I had a chunky version a while ago at a restaurant.  I liked that!  This recipe is smooth, but I think next time I will try leaving it with some chunky bits for texture.

To be honest, the only reason I made this was to go in the olive loaf I was baking.  I tried to buy some decent stuff at the shops, but no go.  Rather than use any old thing I thought now is the time to give this recipe a try.  One thing I can warn you about folks, is that when the jar says pitted olives, it means less pips not none.:=)  So watch out!  I had some supposedly pitted olives from a local deli, plus 2 different brands of jarred olives - they all seemed to have pips.  My poor old processor was being bombarded.



Recipe from Taste.com.au:


ingredients:



175g. (1 cup) Kalamata olives, pitted 

1 heaped tbs capers, rinsed and drained

3 anchovy fillets

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp lemon juice

ground black pepper to taste



Method:


Throw the olives in a food processor - (what? did you think I was going to do it in a mortar and pestle?  Do I look like someone's Italian grandma?- joking!)

Put the olives, capers and anchovies in the processor and blitz briefly till it starts to get smooth

Add the oil in slowly and steadily till it forms a paste

Pour in the lemon juice and blitz for a few seconds

Add pepper to taste

Eat that day or store in a container in the fridge for a few days 



Notes:


Scrape down the processor every so often when blitzing

Add a clove of garlic if you desire

Some recipes suggest adding tuna?!?, or brandy or herbs - why not try them?

Whack in some sun-dried tomatoes for a change

ingredients

chuck 'em in the blitzer

yep, looks like chocolate or something worse   

ready to go!

brown olive doodle