Olive Basil Tapenade
The credit for this Olive Basil Tapenade goes directly to my in-house food critic. Truth is, he just told me to add basil and I came up with the rest. Greg was tired of the one I kept making and wanted something a bit different but didn’t want to give up on the olives altogether. I’m glad because I love olives. I lived in Israel for a couple of years when I was younger and one of my childhood memories is eating thick crusty bread, slathered with butter and covered with sliced greenolives. This tapenade served with thick crusty bread is the adult version of one of my favorite childhood foods. The basil adds a sweet and savory finish to the tapenade. To be honest, I think it tastes pretty amazing.
The ingredients
Add everything to the food processor
Serve with crusty bread or crackers
- 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
- 3 tablespoons pitted dried black olives (optional)
- 2 tablespoons capers ( in vinegar - not salt)
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 cup packed fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
- Salt to taste
- Add all ingredients to a food processor with an S blad
- Process until slightly chunky (see pics above) scraping down sides as needed
- Serve with crusty bread or on a toast cracker with heirloom tomatoes
I had a bunch of basil and olives and was looking for something that I could top some quickly seared tuna steaks with to go with a side of pasta dressed with garlic, olive oil, and fresh basil and tomatoes. This recipe came up, and I had the ingredients at hand. Super simple to make. I topped the seared tuna steaks with the tapenade, and it was wonderful. The brightness and acidity of the tapenade cut through the tuna just as I had hoped it would. At the end of the meal, there was just a little pasta left, and I wondered what that might be like with just a little of the tapenade mixed in. It was easily one of the best things I have ever placed in my mouth. My wife had to go into another room because I couldn’t stop talking about it. By itself, it’s pretty good, but holy Cheebus, the way that it goes with starchy dishes like pasta or bread is just divine.
I loved your comment! I am so happy that you loved this recipe. It’s motivating me to post more.