My next stop in exploring anchovies was a tapenade. A tapenade is a dish that is made from chopped olives, capers and olive oil at its base. Tapenade can also include other ingredients like garlic, herbs, lemon and of course anchovies. It is generally made from black olives and I took the opportunity to try some nicoise olives. The nicoise olives were smaller than the kalamata black olives which I am more familiar with. The tapenade was so full of flavour! Once again the anchovies melded into the dish and added a nice saltiness without making the tapenade taste like fish. The tapenade reminds me of a hummus or a pesto except that it is based on olives. Though I simply served if on crostini I wonder in what other ways it can be used. Maybe in pasta, or a sandwich or on fish…
Tapenade
ingredients
- 1 cup black olives (pitted)
- 1 tablespoon capers (rinsed)
- 2 anchovy fillets (rinsed)
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
- juice of half a lemon
- pepper to taste
directions
- Pulse the olives, capers, anchovies, garlic and olive oil in a food processor.
- Chop the olives.
- Mix the chopped olives, parsley, lemon juice and pepper into the tapenade.
Green Olive and Preserved Lemon Tapenade
I absolutely love olives…this looks like something to try!
Well, I don’t eat anchovies, but I can imagine this would be delicious without them. I do love olives.
Oh how lovely this is. I love both olives and anchoives.
yummm, that looks great! I love the strong salty taste of anchovies. Goes well with french bread.
Oh my. That looks delicious. I’m surprise by the addition of anchovies but I suppose it does add a sharp taste to it! =)
I wonder if that could be a soup topping as well? Will it work?
ahh, tapenade – you should definitely try an olive variety too! yum!
oops! I meant to say that you should try JUST an olive variety :0)
Ooh, I love tapenade but I have never tried making it. I am definitely filing this away to try someday soon!
Looks great, you’re definitely on an anchovy kick (kinda like how I was an a ramp binge last week).
hi, I’ve been browsing your blog since I linked to it from The Sugar Bar and wanted to tell you how much I like what I see! You’ve got some great recipes and beautiful photos. Especially that pile of tapenade! (yum)
mmm…it doesn’t taste fishy? well i may have to take your word for it…anchovies aren’t quite my thing but tapenande…i never say no too!
I’m not a great lover of anchovies, but that tapenade I’d eat in a heartbeat
Looks heavenly Kevin,
Sounds great! Beautiful!
I flipping love tapenade, that pile of yours looks gorgeous! I think it would be amazing as a pasta sauce…maybe stirred through some Puy lentils with feta cheese (might have to make some myself now 🙂
yummy! this looks amazing, wonder what it will taste like 🙂
Gorgeous tapenade! It looks luscious!
Congrats on your first tapenade! It looks really delicious. I have a recipe on my blog for using it on a frittata – That’s yummy! Anchovies are great aren’t they? Onw of my favourtie ingredients.
I know it sounds crazy–but I think that tapenade looks very sexy!!! I’m strange, yes?
I love tapenade. Its great on pasta. I have a Nigel Slater recipe where he stirs it into pappardelle. Tops the pasta with pine nuts and gruyere and bakes until the cheese has turned crispy. Yum! Hmmm, I think I need to make some tapenade.
This looks delicious! The pics are great too!
out of all the things i love about this post, my favorite is actually that extraordinary-looking bread! it looks properly crispy and delicious!
I know it’s supposed to be tapenade but I cannot help but take second, third looks at the crostini. The uniform patterns on the crust are amazing!
It looks really super! I’m a bit scared of too many olives, but when they are mixed with all the other ingredients I bet they taste great.
Tapenade is one of my favorites – it’s so easy to make, and its really delicious. I enjoy it the most on a fillet of oven-cooked salmon. Great job!
Tapenande is one of those things that I’m slowly learning to like. The first time I tried it I wasn’t so keen, but it’s growing on me quickly and yours looks really good.
Continuing on the anchovy theme, you might want to try ‘pissaladiere’, a delicious pizza-like creation from the south of France.
This looks delicious. 🙂 I bet it was great with all those powerful flavors together on simple bread it would be a great snack or even dinner.
Kevin, this looks just awesome. Seriously…YUM!
oh that looks very very good. i also like that plate of yours! 😉
Kevin this really looks tempting to pick off the plate to eat asap!! I love olives and anchovies so what a treat this would be 🙂
Rosie x
I love tapenades! Perhaps I should make an olive tapenade to have around as a delicious spread.
This looks really good and I could see how it would be bursting with flavor. I made something similar a while back and used it to stuff a leg of lamb…I would think you could stuff chicken thighs nicely as well
I love tapenade! This looks beautiful, Kevin!
yummy,yummy,yummy and the problem is I m hungry and is earlier to lunch!!! oh kevin! xxGloria
I could eat just that bread and tapenade for dinner! Nothing else required!
This looks great! I love a good tapenade on crostini!
tapenade on fish = the way to go.
I love this stuff, I used to work at a restaurant that served it as an aperitif and I snacked on it all through my shift. You shoudl try the green olive version too!
I am starving! this looks so good and I love olives…nice work Kevin!
The tapenade looks good and the crostini perfect.
Have added it as a must visit recipe for the week on my blog.
Thanks for the comments on the banana bread 🙂
Wow… tapenade looks awesome… will try it for sure…:D
the pictues look tempting… feel like takeing a bite…:)
First time to ur blog.. its very nice..:)
that looks delicious, Kevin! i should try to make tapenade to use up the olives. i prefer not to use anchovies though. i love the look of rustic prints on the bread 🙂
Black olive tapenade is one of my favorite foods! Your picture is glorious!
I could pick one of these crostini off the screen and eat it right up… I LOVE tapenade! Yours looks perfect. Oh, and by the way, nice to see you finally posted a picture of yourself as well! Nice to finally “meet” you!
Look at you Kevin, bringin’ down the house with this wicked tapenade!
Tapenada! I love!!!! And it’s perfect for crostini, just as you did!
Tapenade, i loove! Sometimes also add walnuts , fresh and roasted with a pinch of salt in a pot.
Thank you for this lovely recipe. I've had a hankering for mediterranean type recipes, and love olives. I followed this recipe and used calemata olives instead (by mistake) but i think it in no way hurt the results. I am eating it on the closest thing i can get to french bread in the middle of north dakota and loving it.
Thanks!
Hi Kevin! I'm from Nice and I'm really happy that you discovered and liked our variety of olives! If you're interested in Mediterranean and niçoise cuisine, I'd be happy to share my traditionnal recipes with you!