Recipe: Homemade Green Black Tapenade is delicious on a tomato salad

Tapenade, that scrumptious Provençal-style olive spread, is a dish that successfully captures the sunny flavors of the Mediterranean. Although most markets stock a store-bought version, it’s fast and easy to make at home, especially if you have a food processor and use pre-pitted olives.

This Green Black Tapenade can be prepared up to a week in advance and stored, airtight, in the refrigerator. One delicious way to show it off is to use it in a tomato salad. Toss 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes (cut into wedges if medium or large, halved if cherry tomato sized) with 1/2 cup Green Black Tapenade, 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves (cut into thin strips), and 3 cups baby greens. Taste the dish and add salt if necessary.  Drizzle with some extra-virgin olive oil.

Green Black Tapenade

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

INGREDIENTS

3 medium cloves garlic, peeled

2 tablespoons drained capers

4 anchovy fillets

Leaves from sprig of fresh thyme

1 cup pitted black olives, kalamata preferred

1 1/4 cups pitted mild green olives, such as Castelvetrano

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. With the food processor running, drop garlic into feedtube to mince it. Add capers, anchovies and fresh thyme leaves; process until minced, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

2. Add olives and olive oil; pulse until olives are finely chopped but not pureed.

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at CathyThomasCooks.com.