Two Quick Appetizers - Tapanade

It is always great to have a few appetizer recipes on hand. They make a nice distraction for guests while I try, yet again, to do too many things at once. My family loves to make a meal out of 3 or 4 different appetizers during Sunday afternoon football.

Autumn Harvest Tapanade

With the holidays upon us, (is it seriously only a month until Christmas??) I thought it would be fun to share two versions of tapenade for you to try.  Tapenade (TAH-puh-NAHD) comes to us from France and traditionally, is a thick paste of capers, olives, anchovies, olive oil and varied seasonings. You can spread it on crackers or pita bread, scoop it up with sliced veggies, or serve it alongside a meat dish. I am including a savory and a sweet option for your enjoyment.  Hint: the Autumn Harvest tapenade is great with my turkey meatballs. I hope you will give them a try!

Artichoke and roasted red pepper tapenade

Makes about 2 cups

Time to table: Less than 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lemon

1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts in water, drained

A palm full of fresh parsley (1/2 cup), washed

1 clove garlic

½ cup black olives, drained

1 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Wash your lemon and zest it with a Microplane or zester.  Slice the lemon in half and squeeze the juice from both halves into a medium bowl. Add the zest to the bowl.

2. If using a food processor, add remaining ingredients to the processor and pulse until everything is finely chopped; do not liquefy.  Scrape down the processor bowl occasionally, if necessary.  Add chopped mixture to the medium bowl with the lemon zest and juice and stir to combine.

3. If you do not have a food processor, finely chop the artichoke hearts, parsley, garlic (use a garlic press if you have it), black olives, & red peppers.  Add all plus the parmesan cheese to the medium bowl with the lemon zest and juice. Stir to combine.

4. Serve alongside your favorite cracker, sliced baguette bread, or with sliced veggies.

Autumn Harvest Tapenade

Makes about 2 cups

Time to table: Less than 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lime

2 small apples (I like Fuji for their crispness)

1/3 cup pecans

½ cup dried cranberries

Half a palm full of fresh parsley leaves

Instructions:

1. Wash your lime and zest it with a Microplane or zester.  Slice the lime in half and squeeze the juice from both halves into a medium bowl. Add the zest to the bowl. If you don’t want to bother with the zest, that is fine, the juice is sufficient.

2. Wash the apples and cut into wedges, remove and discard core.

3.  If using a food processor, add apple slices, pecans, dried cranberries, and parsley leaves to the processor and pulse until finely chopped, do not liquefy.   Add mixture to the lime zest and juice in the medium bowl and stir to combine.

4. If you do not have a food processor, finely chop the apples, pecans, cranberries and fresh parsley and then add to the medium bowl with the lime zest and juice. Stir to combine.

5. Serve alongside pita chips, crackers, or baguette bread.  Kids love this with graham crackers (I do too)!

Makes a great breakfast!

Two Steps Back Ingredients:
Artichokes, parsley, garlic, red peppers, apples, nuts