This is a wonderfully flavorful, yet simple olive tapenade to liven up any special occasion. I made it for our SuperBowl party to dollop on top of my Moroccan White Bean and Kale Soup.
I served the tapenade in a plastic bowl that fit perfectly inside a very clean extra stainless steel dog bowl as a tribute to the reason we were all gathered: to see if the “Doritos Crash the Superbowl” ad co-starring our Great Dane, Huff, had received enough online viewer votes to elevate it from Top 5 status to Top 2, earning it a spot during the game. And as you may have read in my prior post, it had!
Not only did the ad get ranked as the No. 1 Superbowl commercial by the USA Today Ad Meter Poll, winning our friend Jonathan Friedman $1 million as the director, but Huff earned celebrity status! Huff slid into the No. 1 slot under “Great Danes in Popular Culture” on Wikipedia and I promise it was not me who added it!
But back to that sun-dried tomato and olive tapenade …Though it may seem like double work, I like to chop the ingredients first before processing them together in the food processor, so that I don’t over-process them and turn them to mush. But, feel free to try it without the pre-chopping. If it works, it will save you a little precious time.
- 1-1/2 Cups Finely Chopped Parsley (I use a food processor for this task)
- ½ Cup Chopped Olives
- ½ Cup Diced Sun Dried Tomatoes
- ½ Cup, Diced Red Onion
- 1 Large Cloves Garlic, sliced
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil (or more to achieve the consistency you prefer)
- Zest of One Small-Medium Naval Orange
- Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
- If using a food processor to chop the parsley, simply leave it in the bowl and add the olives, sun-dried tomatoes, onion, and garlic to it.
- Pulse the mixture until all ingredients are very finely chopped.
- With the motor running, stream in the olive oil and turn off. Avoid over-processing, as you want to see flecks of color and you want the mixture to have a fine texture but not be completely smooth.
- Add zest and pulse a couple of times.
- Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste, pulsing a couple of times to blend.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container until serving time.
2 Comments
Hi Teresa, definitely use an oil-cured variety for the most flavor. Our tiny little Kroger has a small Mediterranean Bar that includes olives and I just snag a few from there. Enjoy!
What type of olives did you use? Kalamata or garden variety California olives in the can?