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Tapenade is a sophisticated, but quick to make, black olive-based spread for entertaining guests at home. A salty little dip, that can be enjoyed with a variety of breads or vegetables, or even mixed into dishes for an added flavour depth. Read on below for our black olive tapenade recipe.
Add all of the ingredients except the thyme (black olives, capers, anchovy fillets, olive oil, red wine vinegar and lemon juice), into a small food processor. Blitz until it forms a black olive paste and then season with black pepper. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a pestle and mortar.
Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the thyme leaves on top ready for serving.
As the recipe simply calls for everything to be mixed together, to make the best tapenade you will need to source quality ingredients. For the olives, we’d recommend varieties like Kalamata or Niçoise. Ideally, you’re looking for olives that are fairly mild, so they don’t overpower the other ingredients, and ones that have been soaked in brine to bring that salty flavour to the spread. We have a helpful article here all about the different types of olives and their characteristics to help you select the best olives for your tapenade recipe. You can also read our A to Z of olives, for more interesting background information before you make your Mediterranean olive tapenade.
If you don’t want to include anchovies in your recipe, for a vegetarian alternative, you can simply remove these from your ingredients list and add extra capers. It’s also possible to introduce other ingredients if you’re keen to vary the taste. Many recipes call for garlic cloves, and you could experiment with black garlic for a tangy and rich addition to the spread.
If you find your tapenade has turned out a little bitter, the best way to tackle this is to include more acidic elements in the mix. It’s an easy issue to rectify, with a simple squeeze of more lemon juice to bring the flavours back into balance.
Tapenade is a very versatile spread with a distinct flavour. It’s right at home in the middle of a Mezze board, accompanied by freshly cut vegetables, pita chips or flat bread for dipping. You can also enjoy it alongside other Mediterranean-inspired dips like hummus or Tzatziki.
Other alternatives include using the spread as part of a delicious canapé, on mini bread slices, topped with Burrata or fresh vegetables. Some chefs even mix tapenade into dishes, like pasta-based recipes, to bring that unique salty and savoury flavour. With its Mediterranean influence, you’ll sometimes see dollops of tapenade making an appearance on pizzas. This is an easy way to elevate pizza night at home with the quick addition of an elegant flavour to the toppings.
Lastly, it can also be used as a marinade for meat. Try adding it to a whole chicken, under the skin, before you roast it in the oven, for a brand new take on a roast dinner.
Homemade tapenade will keep for around one week in the refrigerator. Make sure you store it in an airtight container.
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