Black & Green Olive Tapenade

You could whip this up in less than five minutes. Tapenade is a great appetizer. It is wonderful for dipping veggies and is also great on crackers or bread. I actually made this tapenade not as an appetizer (even thought that’s what we used the leftovers for), but to put on chicken that I baked in the oven. It was also delicious. It is a pretty versatile spread. don’t like a lot of olive oil or overly oily dipping sauces, so I went a little light on the oil. You can add as much or as little you feel necessary.

Black & Green Olive Tapenade

• 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
• 1 cup pitted green olives (I used Spanish olives with pimentos)
• 4-6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tablespoons capers, rinsed
• 1 lemon, juiced
• olive oil, to preference

1. Put all the ingredients except the lemon juice and olive oil in a food processor. Pulse for about 5 short bursts. Add in lemon juice and a small amount of olive oil. Pulse several more times. Add more oil if you need to. Continue pulsing and adding oil or lemon juice until desired consistency is reached.

Flattened Chicken with Tomatoes, Olives & Capers

This has quickly become one of my go to recipes. I’ve made it several times now and I like it more and more every time. Then again, you could add tomatoes, olives and capers to pretty much anything and I would find it delicious, so I might be a bit biased.

It’s perfect for a quick and easy dinner (like 15 minutes and it’s ready, easy). I’ve made it both with canned diced tomatoes and fresh tomatoes and I hate to say it, but I might have liked the canned tomatoes more… The fresh tomatoes did not break down as well and the skins were kind of tough. I also found that I had to add a little more liquid to get a sauce going with the fresh tomatoes. I am a very saucy person, so when a dish has a sauce, I like a lot of it. If you happen to have super ripe and juicy fresh tomatoes, I wouldn’t worry about it, but if your tomatoes are kind of under ripe and sad, canned would probably be your best bet.

Flattened Chicken with Tomatoes, Olives & Capers
Adapted from BBC Good Food.

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1/2 cup seasoned flour (I used garlic powder, paprika and black pepper to season)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 large ripe tomato, chopped or 1/2-15 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained.
• 2 Tablespoons capers
• large handful Kalamata olives, chopped
• splash white wine/dry vermouth or broth

1. Place the chicken breast on to a flat surface and cover with plastic wrap. Bash with a rolling pin or mallet to flatten, then lightly coat in the seasoned flour. Heat the oil and butter in a pan, add the chicken and cook for 3-4 mins on each side until crisp, browned and cooked through. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
2. Add the tomato, capers, olives and wine to the pan, season to taste, then bring to the boil. Bubble the sauce for 2-3 mins until the tomatoes are starting to break down, then spoon over the chicken.

Roasted Broccoli & Olives

I have been pretty obsessed with roasted broccoli for the last few months. I have been looking for as many different ways to prepare it as possible. This has become on of my favorites. I usually just use kalamatas with this dish, but I had a handful of green olives left, so I threw them in to use them up as well. They made a great addition. The red pepper flakes are totally optional, but I think they give a nice little edge to the dish. I also really like to throw pasta sauce over this to make a heartier side dish (Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce is my favorite). It’s also quite good with pasta sauce and polenta to make a full meal.

Roasted Broccoli & Olives

• 1 large head broccoli
• 1 cup kalamata olives
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 Tablespoon finely grated cheese (I used asiago)
• red pepper flakes, to taste

1. Heat oven to 425F.
2. Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces. Place in a plastic bag and add olives, garlic powder and olive oil. Toss to coat and pour onto rimmed baking sheet.
3. Place baking sheet in oven for 15-20 minutes, or until broccoli is lightly browned and tender.
4. Put broccoli and olives in serving dish. Squeeze lemon juice and grate cheese over broccoli. Sprinkle red pepper flakes over the dish to taste.

Chargrilled Halloumi with Rosemary & Olive Potatoes

This salad combines 4 of my favorite things; halloumi, olives, potatoes and tomatoes, how could you possibly go wrong? Roasting olives and tomatoes really help bring out there flavors and together, they were even better. The rosemary really added a lot of great flavor as well.

With the one exception of having to turn on the oven on an extremely hot day, this made for a perfect light and tasty summer meal. I found that the potatoes were a little dry when you cut them to eat. I think adding some extra liquid or broth with help this situation. Also, make sure your tomatoes have popped, so they can add a little extra liquid as well.

Chargrilled Halloumi with Rosemary & Olive Potatoes
From BBC Good Food

• 1 pound baby new potato, any bigger ones halved
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• few sprigs rosemary, roughly chopped
• 6 ounces jar Kalamata olives, drained
• 8 ounces cherry plum tomatoes
• 5 Tablespoons white wine
• 1-400g pack halloumi cheese, thickly sliced
• 4 ounces mixed baby lettuce, to serve

1. Heat the oven to 425F/220C Put the potatoes on a large baking tray and toss with 1 teaspoon oil. Roast for 25 minutes until golden and tender. Turn once during cooking.
2. Toss the tomatoes, garlic, olives and rosemary into the pan, splash over the wine and roast for another 5 minutes until the tomato skins are popping.
3. Grill or griddle the halloumi until golden, then serve with the vegetables and a handful of lettuce

Roasted Olives & Tomatoes

I had originally intended to serve this like a bruschetta-type appetizer on bread or crackers topped with goat cheese, but by the time they were done, the thought of making gluten-free bread just seemed like way too much of a hassle.  So they were served straight up. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this one. I got a random idea of roasted tomatoes and saw a huge jar of olives in the fridge, so I decided to just combine the two. It turned out really well and the flavors were very complementary. The sweetness of the tomatoes went really well with the salty olives and since roasted garlic makes everything better, the garlic made it great.

Roasted Olives & Tomatoes

• 1 pint (2 cups) grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup pitted black olives
• 1 cup pitted green olives
• 1 cup pitted kalamata oilves
• 1 tablespoon herbs de Provence or Italian blend
• 1 small red onion sliced
• 2 whole heads of garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

1.  Heat oven to 425°F. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients; mix well. Transfer mixture to a large rimmed baking sheet (you might need 2 baking sheets). Bake 20-25 minutes or until the tomatoes have shriveled and browned lightly. Make sure to stir half way through cooking. Cool on the pan. Transfer to a shallow bowl.
2. Serve at room temperature with bread/crackers or cheese.