liv bites

My assistant and I just shelled out some cash to join Costco. It seems a little ridiculous since I live within a one-block walking distance of no less than three grocery stores (truly), but when I heard that I could buy a whole quart of Fage yogurt for $5, I was sold. I eat a lot of yogurt, and that stuff isn’t cheap.

However, I am cheap, which is why I decided to grab an enormous jar of kalamata olives while we were inching our way down the canned food aisle. I love stocking up on veggies like olives and sundried tomatoes because I know they won’t go bad before I have time to eat them.

With all of these olives in my possession, my mission became clear: tapenade.

As a dip, sandwich spread, sauce or topping, tapenade is impressively versatile. When I moved into my first post-college apartment in San Francisco and lived on pizza bagels, my sister taught me that I could use tapenade like pesto — toss it in some pasta and call it an easy weeknight meal. That’s what I did this week, topped with some leftover roasted cherry tomatoes and a little goat cheese for extra flavor.

And I still have about a hundred olives left to go.

Kalamata Olive Tapenade

Ingredients (Makes 1 cup):

2 cloves garlic

1 cup pitted kalamata olives

2 tbsp. capers

1 anchovy filet

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. olive oil

Chop garlic in a food processor until chunks are very small. Add remaining ingredients except olive oil, and pulse until combined. Slowly add olive oil while food processor is on, and keep puréeing until you get your desired consistency.

I like some chunks, so I went easy on the olive oil and didn’t process for too long. If you want more of a paste texture, keep going.

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