Olive Tapenade

Olive Tapenade

Several years ago, my husband traveled to New Orleans for his first visit and fell in love with the famous muffaletta sandwich.  His favorite part of the sandwich, surprisingly, was not the meat but the olive tapenade spread.   I decided to create my own olive tapenade, which we both enjoy so much that we use it in many dishes.  Spread it on a sandwich, endive leaves or on top of a crostini!

The garlic used in this recipe was recently harvested and dried by my grandmother.  She gave us plenty to use throughout the winter months so we are storing some of the garlic in our cool basement and the rest in the freezer.

Olive Tapenade

• 1/2 c. kalamata olives, pitted
• 1/2 c. green olives, pitted
• 1 TBSP  sun dried tomatoes (in olive oil), chopped
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp capers
• 1 garlic clove, minced
•  1-2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• * 2-3 fresh basil leaves
• few grinds black pepper

Directions:

Place all ingredients into a food processor or mini chopper.  Process to combine, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until the mixture becomes a coarse paste (about 1 minute). Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Yield:

*items from Midwest Vegetarian garden

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