I love olives. A trip to the grocery store olive bar is like a treat for myself and my 8-year-old. We are both totally addicted and just can’t stop eating them! So when it was time to have a big family dinner for this not so little guy’s 8th birthday, olives were the top of the menu.
I was specifically told not to make Indian food. “I want Italian! Spaghetti!” I rolled my eyes knowing that none of the adults were into spaghetti. His request was for spaghetti, spinach artichoke dip, bruschetta and olives!
So I went with it. The adults got this awesome baked eggplant parmesan and it was all good. The best part about it was that I didn’t need to use a single brain cell to menu plan. Whadya know, having a demanding child works out sometimes!
For the olives, I made this delicious mixed olive tapenade. He probably would have just settled for a bowl of olives but where’s the fun in that? It’s a party!
I promise this recipe is almost just as easy as dumping a bunch of whole olives into a bowl. You can still have all the fun of picking out your olives at the olive bar.
I don’t know about you, but I love trying every variety. I also happened to come across these cute little sweety drop peppers this time. I decided to add some in for color, but they also had a nice sweet taste to them.
Then I picked a bunch of herbs that I already had on my window sill. You can really use any mix of your favorite herbs. For the tapenade, all you have to do is toss all the ingredients into a food processor! Easy peasy.
What’s even better is what you can do with your tapenade. You don’t have to just serve it in a bowl alongside crackers. You can get as creative as you want.
Make a goat cheese olive tapenade bruschetta or make your own hors d’oeuvre plate by layering crackers with a slice of cucumber topped with tapenade. Sprinkle it over a main course to add some flavor.
My favorite use is to mix it into pasta with some mozzarella pieces and chopped vegetables for a nice past salad lunch.
It’s good any way you want to try it, and perfect for the upcoming holiday entertainment season.
Mixed Olive Tapenade Recipe
Ingredients
- 0.25 Sweety Drop Peppers Or peppadews
- 0.25 Kalamata Olives Pitted
- 0.5 Green Olives Pitted
- 1 Garlic Minced
- 6 Fresh Basil Leaves
- 0.125 Fresh Parsley Leaves
- 1.5 Lemon Juice
- 1 Fresh Oregano
- 1 Capers
- 1 Dijon Mustard
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a small food processor.
- Pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped but not pureed, scraping down in between a few pulses.
- Scoop it all out into a bowl and enjoy.