In the background: Bucatini with olive tapenade and chickpeas.
Way back in June I posted a recipe for chickpea & olive bruschetta, in which I promised that an olive tapenade recipe would shortly follow. Regrettably my good intentions were thwarted by laziness, and it's taken four months for me to make it again.
There's no good reason for it to take so long — olive tapenade is quick to make, incredibly easy, and can be used in all sorts of ways. If you ask me, the simplest and still one of the best is to spread it on a thick piece of Italian country bread that's been drizzled with olive oil and grilled. It also goes terrifically with pasta (it is after all 2/3 of the way to puttanesca), and last night I thinned it out with extra virgin olive oil, stirred in a little fresh mint, and used it as a sauce for some roast lamb. Delicious.
Olive tapenade
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups pitted kalamata olives
- 2 small cloves of garlic
- 2 anchovy fillets
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tbsp salt-packed capers, rinsed
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (use the best you have)
1. Blitz everything in a food processor until well blended. I told you it was easy.