Olive Tapenade

Olive Tapenade, the name sounds so exotic! And the ingredient list is mouth watering. The first time I tasted it I fell in love. I had never used capers at home back then but I wanted to try the tapenade. My homemade version came out pretty good. And then I forgot all about it. A couple weeks back my daughter came home for summer. I spent a good deal of time listing all the dishes I would cook while she was home. I came across this old recipe and decided it had to go on the list.

As it happened I made sourdough crackers the day I made the Tapenade. It made the perfect spread for the crackers for an afternoon snack. I am glad I got all my pictures before I let the family eat it because there wasn't enough left for pictures!

When my daughter was little I worked hard to help her broaden her palate. Living in the US we have access to a variety of foods from all over the world, both restaurants and grocery stores. Luckily for me most Moms I interacted with were like me and that made it so much easier. Today she can appreciate a variety of tastes and foods. She is always excited to try something new and that makes it a pleasure to cook.

 You will need
6 oz Black medium olives
6 oz Green medium olives
5 tbsp. capers
1 clove garlic
2-3 sprigs flat leave parsley, I used cilantro
fresh ground black pepper

Mince the olives, capers, garlic and parsley. Combine with the other ingredients.

Update: I tried this again with a few variations and liked it even better. Added 1 6 oz. can of black and 1 6 oz. can of green medium sized pitted olives. These were minced and added to the recipe. Instead of 2 tbsp. capers I used 5 tbsp. of capers. The rest of the ingredients remained the same. This added a lot of depth to the Tapenade as the flavors of the different olives and finally the capers and garlic unfolded with each bite. I have updated the ingredient list.

Enjoy!