Olive tapenade and sundried tomato tapenade are some of the most traditional dips of the Mediterranean region. Enjoy this appetizer with some crackers and an aperitif during the hot summer days.
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What is French tapenade?
Tapenade is a typical dip or spread from the Provence region in the South of France. It is usually made from green or black olives and is commonly eaten on slices of baguette. If you walk around a French farmer's market (called "marché") you'll see many regional producers selling tapenades in huge containers with lots of different flavors, including sundried tomato tapenade. They all have different recipes and ways to prepare the tapenade.
- Certain producers will add lemon, anchovies, or capers to their olive tapenades.
- Some tapenades are more oily because of the addition of olive oil.
- Several tapenades are roughly chopped, while others are more finely ground.
If you ever have the chance to go to France, try different tapenades (black olive tapenade, green olive tapenade, tomato tapenade) and from different producers.
Ingredients you'll need
Homemade tapenade is made of a few simple ingredients and is very easy to recreate at home in a food processor. All you need are:
- Sundried tomatoes: preferably choose tomatoes that are preserved in oil. If not place them in hot water for 10 minutes until soft.
- Black olives: you'll need high-quality black olives for the most flavorful tapenade.
- Capers: use the small jarred capers preserved in brine.
- Garlic is a must in tapenades.
- Lemon juice will add freshness to your tapenade.
Step by step with pictures
Chop the sundried tomatoes with the capers and garlic. Add the ingredients to a food processor and pulse several times until finely chopped.
Chop the olives. To avoid blending the ingredients too much, chop the olives in the food processor separately. Pulse several times until chopped.
Combine all the chopped ingredients. Add the chopped tomatoes and olives to a bowl with the lemon juice and the salt. Give it a stir.
Storage tips
Transfer the tomato tapenade to a clean, air-tight container. You can store it in the fridge for more than 1 week.
How to serve tapenade
Serve it as an appetizer. If you want to do things the traditional way, serve the tapenade in a small bowl with some (gluten-free) crostinis, breadsticks or toasted baguette (to make bruschetta-like appetizers). Enjoy it on the terrace with an aperitif before dinner.
Enjoy it on toast as a light lunch. Spread the tomato tapenade on a sandwich or on toasted bread with some arugula and cucumbers.
More Mediterranean recipes
- 15-minutes tomato and cucumber salad
- Tomato artichoke pasta salad
- White bean dip with roasted cherry tomatoes
- Insanely good zucchini dip with fresh basil
The recipe
Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenande (No Anchovies)
Ingredients
- sun-dried tomatoes preserved in oil*
- capers
- garlic
- 1 jar of pitted black olives
- fresh lemon juice
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
- Add the sundried tomatoes, a little bit of their oil, the capers and garlic to a food processor. Pulse several times until finely chopped. It shouldn't form a paste. Transfer the mixture from the food processor to a small mixing bowl.
- Add the pitted olives to the food processor and pulse until chopped.
- Add them to the mixing bowl with the sun-dried tomatoes. Finally, add the lemon juice and sea salt and stir to combine.
- Serve as a dip or spread with gluten-free crostinis or toasted baguette.
Notes
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