Here’s a knockout dish of three tangy, tasty tapenades in one pretty package. The effect of the vibrant red, green, and black colors is magnificent, and people won’t be able to stop dipping. All three of the tapenades are super easy—put two or three ingredients into the blender, and that’s all.
The tapenades are so flavorful that it’s good to balance them with crostini spread with goat cheese or ricotta. Just serve the cheese with the crostini alongside the tapenades.
If you have any tapenade left over, try mixing it with leftover goat cheese or cream cheese as a great spread for sandwiches. You can also add a little sour cream and have a great dip for raw veggies. Or mix one tapenade into a basic salad dressing such as a garlicky balsamic dressing.–David Lieberman
Tapenade Trio Recipe
Ingredients
- For the sun-dried tomato tapenade
- 1 cup tightly packed sun-dried tomatoes marinated in oil (so they’re soft)
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- For the black-olive tapenade
- 1 1/2 cups tightly packed, pitted black olives
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- For the green-olive-and-caper tapenade
- 1 1/2 cups tightly packed, pitted green olives
- 1/3 cup capers, drained
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Directions
- 1. Purée the ingredients in a blender until smooth.
- 2. Add more oil than called for if the tapenades seem dry or are difficult to purée.
- 3. Arrange on a small platter or plate so you get all three of the vibrant colors next to each other.
Tapenade Trio Recipe © 2005 David Lieberman. Photo © 2005 George Whiteside. All rights reserved.
I suggest another tapenade or a sort of tapenade. Add almonds to your olive tapenade. It’s different and surprising for guests. It’s one of my classic dish for dinners. Ingredients are green and/or black olives, crushed almonds, capers, and olive oil.
I love sundried tomatoes—I might just make all three at our next family get together! Thank you for sharing.