Olive Tapenade

I have so many half-written blogs sitting in my drafts, so I decided to just start small at revamping my blog and give you a little something I tried to teach myself on a slow night at work this week. A monsoon outside of the restaurant left us with canceled reservations and virtually no walk-ins - with lots of free time on my hands I got to play around with pizza combinations I have seen on other restaurants' menus (tried marinara base/Prosciutto di Parma/sun-dried tomatoes/spinach/mozzarella - mediocre, could only taste tomatoes and no real prosciutto came through) and also tried to emulate my chef's olive tapenade. Olive Tapenade is a favorite of mine from my mom's dinner parties - she would buy huge jars of the best tasting olive spread, and a few weeks back our owner came in the kitchen hungry so Chef whipped up some olive tapenade. Something I am learning in Italian cooking is that unlike French cooking (which I LOVE. I love butter, I love sauces) there is a huge emphasis on using high quality products and preserving their own flavors, textures and the tasty simplicity therein. I think spreads like this, with minimal additives, is a perfect example of a food that preserves an ingredient's original flavor. I don't know exactly how Chef made his, but mine goes a little like this:


Olive Tapenade

handful of Picholine olives (green, unfermented, brine-cured Italian olives. mild, soft texture, a little sweet)
handful of Kalamata olives
handful of ripe black olives
any other olives you have your hands on
3 pepperoncinis
garlic, minced
a handful of capers

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend - taste, add a little cayenne if you want it spicier or some more pepperoncinis. This tapenade is very olive-y with just a little kick from the brine and spice of the pepperoncinis. Serve with crostinis drizzled in good olive oil and salt and pepper!