Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade

Alright, folks. Let's talk Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade. I don't know a ton about the history of tapenade, but it seems that in days past, tapenade was always olive-based. I'm not against olives at all, but when I found this roasted red pepper version of tapenade, I was convinced that olives could take a back seat for just a bit.

What are the ingredients in Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade?

The ingredients are roasted peppers (more on that in a bit), artichoke hearts (more on that, too!), capers, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and olive oil.

Let's talk about roasted red peppers

So … now let's talk roasted red peppers. I love roasting my own over the fire of my gas stove burners, on the grill, or under the broiler. I love the fresh taste and the ability to control the char. When they are in season in the summer, it's a good idea to get some at a good price at the farmers market, roast them, then store them in the freezer for year-round yumminess.

If they are not in season and the price is soaring, don't back down from buying jarred roasted peppers. I said "jarred" because I strongly recommend buying them in a jar rather than a can to avoid BPAs and to get a fresher taste.

Do you like artichoke hearts?

And now about the artichoke hearts. Again, you can prepare these from scratch, too! Especially in the spring when they are in season and available in all the markets. But that's lots of work! Work I'm willing to do and willing to show you. However, for this simple recipe, I just want to dump and go rather than peel tough leaves, steam for 45 minutes, peel some more, etc … especially for a simple sauce like this. SO, here's my advice about jarred artichokes:

• First, jarred again? Yes, refer to the paragraph on jarred red peppers for the reason to buy jarred foods.
• Second, you can get artichokes in water and you can get marinated artichokes. The ones in water are Plain Jane, but still beautiful. The marinated ones are Marilyn Monroe, but you have to make adjustments. See the next point.
• Third, use whichever one you want! But if you use marinated ones, back down on the amount of olive oil you use. Another brilliant idea is to simply use the oil that the artichokes are in rather than add extra olive oil.

Just throw all the things in the bowl of the food processor, whir it up, and voila, you have Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade!

How to serve Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade

What do I recommend you serve this Tapenade with? Well, the obvious is to serve it with bread, crostini, focaccia … for an appetizer. Pictured is my homemade sourdough bread. In the world of low-carbers we live in, it's also acceptable to serve it with celery sticks, cucumber slices, zucchini and yellow squash slices, jicama or carrot sticks.

Using the tapenade as an appetizer accompaniment is great, but you can also use the tapenade to accompany grilled meats and fish. You can even marinate your meat in it. If you do that, though, be sure to save some out to eat along side and discard the marinade.

Recipe