My local animal welfare group gave a little wine and cheese reception this past weekend for a group of new members. Although most of the guests were not vegetarian, I wanted to have one nice vegan appetizer on hand. I chose this quick tapenade recipe below and served it with little slices of ciabatta bread. It was a hit; people were practically diving into the bowl! Fortunately, however, I had made a double batch so I’d have a good supply for myself at home.

Leftover tapenade has endless possibilities and here is what I did with mine.

  • Roasted Winter Veggies with Tapenade: I had made some roasted winter vegetables over the weekend —sweet potatoes, onions, Brussels sprouts, and white potatoes—and I tossed those with a few tablespoons of the tapenade which turned this homey dish into something even better and more spectacular.
  • Pasta and Squash with Tapenade: I also had a few winter squashes left from the garden. I baked and cubed those, piled them on top of a bowl of angel hair pasta and tossed the whole thing with the tapenade. This is definitely a dish I will serve the next time I need something easy, foolproof and extra yummy for guests!
  • Tofu Scramble with Tapenade: Finally, when I made some scrambled tofu with mushrooms for breakfast this morning, I mixed in the last few teaspoons of the tapenade.

Here is the recipe I used:

1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
1 ½ teaspoons capers
2 large cloves garlic
Juice of ½ lemon
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ teaspoon herbes de Provence (or just use a few pinches each of thyme, marjoram, rosemary and basil.)

Blend everything in a food processor or blender until well mixed.