Black & Green Tapenade with Goat Cheese Crostini

  Home  |  Recipes  |  Diet Recipes  |  Dinner Party Menus  |  Food History  |  Culinary Dictionary  |  Diet, Health & Beauty

This recipe and photo are courtesy of Chef Wolfgang Puck, owner of the Beverly Hills restaurant called Spago, one of America’s most high profile ‘celebrity’ chefs.

Check out Linda's Appetizer Recipes for more great appetizer ideas.

Black & Green Tapenade with Goat Cheese Crostini

Olive Tapenade (see recipe below)
Oven-Dried Tomatoes (see recipe below)
Crostini (see recipe below)
Herbed Goat Cheese (see recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Make Olive Tapenade, Oven-Dried Tomatoes, Crostini, and Herbed Goat Cheese; set all aside until ready to assemble.

TO ASSEMBLE:  On each of the Crostini, spread some Olive Tapenade, 1 tablespoon Herbed Goat Cheese, and top with 1 teaspoon Olive Tapenade.

OLIVE TAPENADE:
1 cup Nicoise olives, pitted
1 cup small green French olives (Picholine), pitted
1/4 cup oven-dried tomatoes, drained (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon capers
1 garlic clove
1 anchovy fillet
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor, combine all the ingredients, except the olive oil. Using the pulse button, process until coarsely chopped and well blended. Continue to process, slowly adding the olive oil. Refrigerate in a covered container until ready to use.

OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES: Check out my web page on making Slow-Roasted Tomatoes.
12 medium Roma tomatoes (2 pounds)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus additional as needed
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper  
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. In a pot of boiling water, blanch tomatoes. Drain and refresh in ice water. Drain. Peel, core, cut into quarters, and remove seeds.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; arrange the tomato quarters on the baking sheet, cut side down. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with thyme and garlic. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and sugar, and sprinkle evenly over the tomatoes. Bake until the tomatoes begin to shrivel, about 1 hour. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, transfer to a container. Pour olive oil over and cover the container. Refrigerate and use as needed.

Yield: 1 1/4 cups

CROSTINI:
2 slices bread, preferably sourdough
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 garlic clove

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and bake approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven and very lightly rub the toasted bread with the garlic clove. Allow to cool before adding toppings.

Yield: 2 servings

HERBED GOAT CHEESE:
2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper  
1 (7 or 8-ounce) log goat cheese

Combine the parsley, chives, thyme, and pepper and place on a flat surface. Roll the log of cheese in the mixture, coating all sides and retaining the shape of the log. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.