By Chef Amanda DeLaura
Greeting from Italy! My time here continues to be very educational. I am currently traveling with my father and sister and am learning a lot about local culture and foods.
This week, I share one of my favorite appetizers to serve guests before dinner when they’re all gathered around my kitchen waiting for what’s about to come out of the oven or off of the stove: tapenade. One of the hardest elements of hosting is timing when the food is ready. Hospitality becomes much less stressful if you have appetizers readily available for your guests upon arrival.
This is easy to prepare ahead and have waiting in your refrigerator, ready to serve. I tend to usually serve it with homemade focaccia, but it is also divine with pita chips or crudités. Buon appetito!
Ingredients:
1 eggplant, sliced into 1.5” rounds1 red pepper, sliced into 1.5” rounds
1/4 cup fresh basil, rinsed & dried
1 sprig parsley, rinsed & dried
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup olive oil1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, or more to taste
1/4 cup cassava root flour
2 tsp butter, chopped
1 Tbsp lemon juice (or maple syrup but the crumble will be looser)
1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to broil. Place the eggplants and bell pepper rounds onto a lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Place the pan into the middle of the oven and broil for 5 minutes, or until browned and almost Flip the vegetables and repeat on the second half. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Place cooled vegetables in a food processor with basil and parsley. Pulse a few times, until broken down. Add remixing ingredients and pulse till just combined. Serve with crudités, homemade focaccia, in a veggie wrap (see my favorite alternate wrap here), or as The tapenade will keep in the fridge covered for up to 5 days.
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