Black olive tapenade

Black olive tapenade

black olive tapenade in jar

In my books, a good olive tapenade is a vegan’s best friend. It’s dead easy to make and super versatile. Its strong, sour-salty taste will easily jazz up even the most boring of dishes. I love to lather it on grilled ciabatta bread packed with griddled vegetables and grilled tofu. It’s also so portable that you can easily take all the individual ingredients to work (to avoid highly unpleasant ‘soggy sandwich syndrome’) and assemble this master ‘sanger’ in front of your jealous colleagues.

People tend to be impressed when they find out that you make your own tapenade, but other than having to use an electrical appliance, even a three-year-old could accomplish it too. I live in Greece, which aside from being famous for being a bit of a recent financial black hole, is equally famous for its jet black, Kalamata olives and so they are one of my kitchen staples. However, if you can’t get Kalamata olives where you live, you can replace them with any black olives and the finished product won’t disappoint!

black olive tapenade lunch

black olive tapenade lunch sideview

makes
150 ml
PREP
15 min
COOKING
0 min
makes
150 ml
PREPARATION
15 min
COOKING
0 min
INGREDIENTS
  • 200 g / 1 packed cup pitted Kalamata olives
  • 35 g / ¼ cup almonds
  • 1 small garlic clove, pressed
  • 1½ tbsp capers
  • lots of freshly ground pepper
  • a handful of fresh parsley or fresh thyme
  • 2 tbsp / 30 ml extra virgin olive oil
METHOD
  1. Rinse your capers and olives well and pat them dry with a kitchen towel. If you skip this step, your tapenade may turn out too salty for your palate.
  2. Put almonds into a food processor and process until you get a coarse meal.
  3. Add in pitted olives, capers, chopped parsley or thyme, olive oil and process until you have a coarse paste.
  4. Season with freshly ground pepper and garlic. As both olives and capers are preserved in salt, it’s unlikely that the tapenade will need any more salt so make sure you taste before adding any.
  5. Transfer to a jar and store in the fridge. Enjoy on fresh or toasted bread or in sandwiches.
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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
936
47%
sugars
2 g
2%
fats
93 g
133%
saturates
12 g
60%
proteins
22 g
44%
carbs
11 g
4%
*per serving
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5.0
3 reviews, 16 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Kathy:
Any way to can so it will stay longer & I can give for Christmas gifts?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Pretty sure you could freeze it or pasteurise it although I have not tried doing that myself. A layer of olive oil added at the top will preserve it for longer, but not sure it will for as long as you need it to. Hope this helps! Ania
Keith:
Hey Lc,
I discovered this on a sandwich here in Barcelona and it blew my mind! So I legged it home and that was when I found your site for the first time!
My wife absolutely goes crazy for this and even though she's not the kitchen type, she's learned how to make this! We always have a few spare jars in the freezer!
Thank you LC!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Keith! Glad you guys enjoy it so much! I used to live on it when we lived in Greece cos quality olives were so good and so cheap, thanks for reminding me to make it again. x Ania
EAN G.:
Love this recipe. My girlfriend and I live in Austin and we’re looking to recreate a black olive tapenade from our favorite sandwich shop (RIP Fricano’s). Went out on a limb and invested $50 for a mini food processor just to make this and it was TOTALLY worth it, even better than the one we were trying to recreate. Thanks a bunch, Ania!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, I am really happy to hear that you enjoyed it and sorry to hear that your favourite sandwich shop has closed. Stay well. Ania
Mary:
It definitely should! Will make it with capers when I have them :) next up are your vegan cinnamon rolls!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Great to hear, I hope you'll enjoy them! Ania
Mary:
Delicious! Thanks so much for your wonderful recipe. I made it with a mix of green & black olives (what I had in the fridge), sun dried tomatoes in oil instead of the capers and then added a couple of small cornichon pickles to add a bit of the briney sourness. It was so tasty that I aimmediately ate 5 spoonfuls with crostini! So much better than what’s sold in the shops. Thank you! Mary xx
    Ania
    Ania:
    So glad to hear that, Mary, although sounds like the credit should not go to me. Ania
Emma Falk Kragh:
Can I make the tapenade without nuts since I'm allergic?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Sure, maybe use breadcrumbs instead to thicken a little. Hope that helps! Ania
Clive:
I make mine with walnuts not almonds. The extra earthiness seems to work very well. I use almonds when I make green tapenade.
Do you use olives in oil or water?
Thanks
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi, I used olives in brine. Ania
Khal:
This looks great? How long does it keep for in the fridge?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Khal. I have had a jar of it in an air-tight container for 3 weeks now and it's still fine to eat so 2-3 weeks at least.
oooh, this looks awesome! I have (found online) an artichoke olive tapenade recipe that I love to make for potlucks and stuff. I leave it a little chunky and serve with crackers or chips or bread rounds like a dip. This looks like a great variation, I'll have to try it soon!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, De. Yes, this one is perfect both as a dip and as a bread spread. Your artichoke variation sounds delicious too - will queue it up for the next artichoke season.
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