Appetizers = one of the best inventions ever. In my ideal world, meals would consist of an endless array of appetizers and be eaten outdoors whenever possible. Though I have never had the good fortune of experiencing a tapas party, I suspect I would never wish to leave if I did. Furthermore, if you browse my recipe index, you’ll notice that there are far more recipes for appetizers and snacks than entrées. And I am not sorry about that.
I also love cilantro and olives, and I would be ever so delighted if they became more popular than cheese as an appetizer ingredient. To satisfy my cravings for bread sticks once upon a time, I made dairy-free (cilantro) pesto olive bread twists. Though it was delayed gratification, I relished every bite.
The great thing, then, about making appetizers at home is that you can customize them precisely to your taste preferences. So what happened when I tossed olives and cilantro together again this week? Out of the food processor came a succulent olive tapenade, perfect for dining al fresco. No capers, no blue cheese, just the flavours I like. And I think you will really enjoy this tapenade too!
P.S. I’m bringing this recipe to Fiesta Friday!
Cilantro Olive Tapenade
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sliced olives
- 1/2 cup cilantro, rinsed
- 1/4 cup artichoke hearts (or mushrooms)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- sea salt, to taste
Directions:
- In a small sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and artichoke hearts and sauté for 2 minutes or until garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat.
- Combine artichoke hearts, garlic and remaining ingredients and transfer to food processor. Pulse several times (longer each time for a finer tapenade or shorter pulses for a coarser blend), scraping sides to ensure even consistency. Add more salt to taste if needed. Serve with crackers or slices of toasted garlic bread.
What are your favourite appetizers or tapas?
Also sharing this here.
Swirls and Spice 
What a great take on olive tapenade! I’d love this as a sandwich spread. Yum! 🙂
That’s my plan for enjoying it tomorrow! Probably for lunch. 🙂
It look so good! Never had olive tapenade but I thiink I’m about to.. 🙂
Go for it! I’m planning to try making some with kalamata olives (instead of black olives) to compare the taste.
This looks fantastic. It’s definitely worth a try when our coriander starts to take off.
Thanks! I think you’ll enjoy it. And have you seen my cilantro pesto recipe? It makes very short work of a big bunch of coriander. I’m planning to make some soon.
https://swirlsandspice.com/2013/04/25/rice-vermicelli-with-cilantro-pesto-sauce-a-gluten-free-dairy-free-recipe/
That looks really good. Especially with the prawns. Now we just need our coriander to grow like mad. Thanks for the suggestion.
I think this is the perfect appetizer – it looks delicious!
This looks so good. 🙂 I don’t think I’ve had this before (where was I when this food was introduced?). Anyway, with the list of ingredients of you have, I bet this tastes good! Thanks for sharing this to us! 🙂 Hope you are enjoying FF15. ❤
This is my second week of joining Fiesta Friday and I’m having a great time! Thanks!
That’s great! Hope to see you again on FF. 😉
This looks so yummy…. I need to taste this!!
Please do. Thanks for visiting me here. 🙂
simple, but yummy recipe! I have not tried to cook artichoke hearts, I will try this after I get some. 🙂
You can also just use artichokes from a can or jar, which is what I did.
I wish I had some of this olive tapenade to go with some crackers for lunch! This looks beautiful and I’m sure tastes great with the medley of olives, artichokes, and seasonings. YUM!
I was planning to put this tapenade on a sandwich for lunch, but I was so hungry I ate it for breakfast…
Well done! We should never wait to eat something so good, anyway! 🙂
This looks so relishing! Would go lovely with some toasted bread! 🙂
Yes indeed!
You’re right- appetizers are the best and your tapenade looks good!
Thanks so much!
Hi there – so nice to ‘meet’ you through Fiesta Friday! I love the addition of artichoke hearts to the tapenade – would make a wonderful topping on a piece of roasted fish too! Thanks for bringing this to the party – I hope you get a chance to make some new friends at FF #15!
Nice to meet you too! Fish is a good idea. Thanks for visiting me here. Enjoy your weekend!
What a great twist on tapenade –
I’m going to try this with griddled fish…
Emma 🙂
That sounds great! Enjoy!
I so agree about appetizers. I could eat tapas every night. Looks yummy.
Thanks! I saw that you have some great appetizer/tapas ideas on your site too.
Well Julia, you and I must be kindred spirits! Not only are our names almost the same, but we both love appetizers more than anything! I am with you on the appetizer thing and so often, we just have parties with appetizers. Maybe this is called a tapas party? I will make your recipe very soon because it has all of the flavours that I adore! 😀
Kindred indeed. So I guess you’ve been having tapas parties all along. 🙂 Maybe serve some Spanish wine to make it even more authentic. Although I prefer sparkling punch myself.
Oh, I love Spanish wine and do serve it frequently! 😀
This looks delightful, Julia! Just the thing for a party. Tapas is the best! 😀
Thanks! Outdoor parties are my favourite!
I love tapenade and yours is so different with the cilantro and artichoke hearts…can’t wait to try it.
Enjoy! I’m so glad you stopped by here this weekend.
I bet I could eat that whole recipe myself…along with a bag of chips. this is pinned and waiting for our first cookout. Appetizers are my favorite foods.
Thanks for stopping in for a closer look. The tapenade could be a nice burger or hot dog topping too. Hmm…might have to try that soon!
Your Tapenade looks so delicious 🙂
Thanks! I’m not an expert on tapenades by any means, but I know what flavours I like together. 🙂
This looks so fresh and bright, Julia!
Thanks, Aimee! I’m plotting ways to enjoy it further.
We just got back from Italy and had so many great tapanades! This sounds delicious!
i think we call this one “Sisig” its a cebuano or Filipino word, this looks very similar to sisig …
Thanks for sharing with us at Marvelous Monday – great flavors – pinning to my MM board!
Thanks for taking note of my tapenade recipe! I love the ideas that are shared at Marvelous Mondays! Each week I look forward to it!
Great flavours in the tapenade, I can imagine it would work very well in a sandwich. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!!