November 15, 2012
This appetizer stands out from the usual fare; don’t get me wrong, I love crostini smeared with delectable cheese as much the next guy, but sometimes carb-heavy first bites can drag down the whole meal. Not this appetizer though, and the leftovers are perfect for a light lunch the next day.
It starts with a simple, fresh-tasting tapenade that is so easy to make thanks to pre-pitted olives. It’s packed with flavor and you literally just dump everything in the food processor and give it a whirl.
This tapenade recipe is full of my favorite olives – green Cerignola and Kalamata. If you can’t find the Cerignola, you can substitute with a green olive that has a mellow buttery flavor, such as Lucques or a Picholine. You usually can find these pitted and ready to go in the olive bar at Whole Foods. Track down the peppadew peppers at the olive bar as well; peppadews add a great sweet, mild heat to the tapenade.
Hard-boiled eggs (plan on one egg per guest)
Tapenade (recipe below)
Fresh Parsley
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Sea salt
Fresh Tapenade
Makes approx. two cups
1/2 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
1 large clove garlic, sliced
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1 cup pitted briny green olives, such as Cerignola
6 peppadew peppers
1 Meyer lemon, the zest of whole lemon and 1 tablespoon of the juice
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Sea salt to taste
Place all the ingredients in food processor and mix until desired consistency (yes, it’s that easy).
To assemble the appetizer (there are two methods, as seen in photos):
Start with the hard-boiled eggs, cooled and sliced in half. Place two scoops of the tapenade on each plate and nestle the egg halves on top of each mound. Sprinkle with parsley leaves, sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Another way you can serve it is by scooping out the yolks and packing the hole with the tapenade. Then sprinkle with parsley leaves, the crumbled yolks and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
