Cook the Book Fridays (CtBF) is currently cooking from My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz. This week's selected recipe is Artichoke Tapenade with Rosemary Oil. I have never made tapenade before, and have only eaten it once, store-bought black olive tapenade in a jar.
Rosemary Oil
Rosemary Oil, which is drizzled over the tapenade before serving. It is made by heating some olive oil and salt to warm. Fresh rosemary leaves and parsley leaves are blanched in boiling water for a few seconds, then cool in an ice bath. Drain and wipe dry thoroughly. Infuse the herbs in the oil for 15 minutes. Place the oil, and the herbs in a food processor and process till fine. Strain the oil in a fine mesh strainer. What you get is a lovely emerald green of Rosemary Oil.
Artichoke (either fresh or canned) is not easily available over here in Malaysia as it is not a common ingredient for us. This recipe uses canned artichoke. After a few trips to different supermarkets, I finally found it (big smile!), and there's only one brand available (still a big smile!).
The tapenade is made by putting the artichoke, green olives, capers, lemon juice, garlic, cayenne pepper and olive oil in a food processor and process to a puree. Season with some salt if necessary. I tasted mine and it was just right, taking into account that there's salt in the rosemary oil.
It was so delicious! We love it!
It was so good over toasted baguette slices. I bought only one baguette and it was gone pretty quick! The tapenade makes quite a lot, so the next morning we had it again, (yup, for breakfast, which we were looking forward to!), with some toasted whole wheat bread which I've made the week before, which I've kept frozen. This recipe is a keeper! Canned artichoke is on my grocery list now!
To see the other members' review on this Artichoke Tapenade with Rosemary Oil, please visit CtBF. If you would like to try this tapenade, you can get the recipe from this link. It would be even better to buy the book and join us at CtBF.
So delicious! I love olive tapenade, but have never made with artichoke. Definitely a must try. Thanks for sharing, Joyce.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly that feeling of excitement when you finally track down that elusive ingredient. Artichokes are very easy to find around here, but plenty of other recipes have sent me on treasure hunts around the city. So happy to hear that you found the key ingredient for this week's recipe and that it proved to be a worthwhile effort.
ReplyDeleteI always forget that not all ingredients are equally available around the world. I'm glad you found the artichoke hearts. It wouldn't have been the same without it!
ReplyDeleteI can imagine how delicious this tapenade will be when fresh artichokes are used. They will be in season in a few months. Love your display with the baguette.
ReplyDeleteWow! Your rosemary oil is such a vibrant green. Mine pales (literally) in comparison. I'm so glad you were able to track down a source for the artichokes. I'm with you, I'll be making this dip again.
ReplyDeleteJoyce, I'm so glad you all loved it! As soon as you had asked for a different schedule I realized that artichokes are probably not a staple item for you all. :( Sorry about that and thank goodness you found some canned in water as for a long time the only ones available in my little town were jarred with oil (so not appropriate for this dish). I'll post in a few days about our schedule and how we'll work it out as this month was an outlier with the small amount of turnaround time. Anyway, we'll be making this again (tomorrow, in fact) as it was that good and that easy!
ReplyDeleteJoyce,
ReplyDeleteLots of lovely pictures in your post! Your kids are adventurous in food tasting! Ampang Grocers only had one brand too, a Spanish 'Golden Key'! Thanks for reminding me that we have to make the Rosemary oil first. I had it again with my dinner tonight!
I too, forget that some items, that we take for granted, are hard to find in other parts of the world. I’m glad you were able to find a can. This really was a delicious treat…I will be making it again and again.
ReplyDeleteWhat is even better than finding it is actually enjoying it! I agree it was delicious.. I am tossing leftovers with some fresh pasta for lunch today.
ReplyDeletewow! you got an intense green color in your rosemary oil. lovely!
ReplyDeleteTapenade for breakfast made me smile. I'm glad you persevered and finally found the artichokes!
ReplyDeleteIt was so good over toasted baguette! Yours looks fantastic
ReplyDeleteEverything about this dish sings excitement, Joyce! The thought, the hunt, the anticipation, the taste and the sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteKudos to you for not giving up! It looks amazing Joyce! Thank you so much for sharing...
You are a trooper, Joyce, to go out on a treasure hunt and, after many tries, score some artichoke hearts. Good for you. Your tapenade - first time ever - looks mighty tasty and I'm glad you enjoyed.....even for breakfast!
ReplyDeleteI know that happy feeling of finding those difficult ingredients! I could see the tapenade working for breakfast with a poached egg and a nice piece of toast.
ReplyDelete