Simple Black Olive Tapenade

Do you ever have that one item in your refrigerator that elicits an 'Ugh' every time you open it? You know you need to use it in some form or another, but other items have somehow pushed themselves to the front. The lowly item that you purposely scan over is pushed to be back left corner behind the two week old cranberry juice? That such item of mine was a mostly-full jar of Kalamata olives. I have been avoiding them for a good three weeks. There is no really good explanation for it either. I actually really like Kalamata olives.

Somehow they have forced a deep groan out of me ever time I see them. I even think about them on my walk to work sometimes. I think up all these great ideas of what to do with them: slice them on top of pizza, sprinkle into an omelet, or finally today, make tapenade. What a simple solution to an unnecessarily nagging problem. Puree them with parsley, capers, garlic, balsamic vinegar and you have yourself lunch for a few days. So if you too have that jar of olives longingly scooting itself closer to the front of your refrigerator, pull it out and  puree it with other said ingredients for an ridiculously easy spread.


Simple Black Olive Tapenade
Makes about 1 cup

This spread is so easy and you likely have most ingredients on hand. Simply puree. Serve with crackers, as a sandwich spread, or an omelet filling.

1 cup Kalamata (or any variety of black) olives
1 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons drained capers
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Drop all ingredients into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. You may need to occasionally scrape the sides and puree again to ensure a uniform texture.

With daylight saving today, it was a luxury to come home after a trip to Ikea, and be able to shoot pictures outside at 7pm. It makes a world of a difference to take food outside and use natural light.