Fig and Olive Tapenade recipe

Olive tapenade is a traditional Italian antipasti dish and it is basically chopped olives combined with garlic and olive oil. This recipe makes it a little more upmarket and combines balsamic vinegar, fresh rosemary and figs into the tapenade for a delicious salty sweet starter that is perfect for serving with thin slices of baguette.

Ingredients:

• 200g dried figs
• 125ml water
• 150g Kalamata olives, pitted
• 2 tbsp. aged balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 200g cream cheese
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• 1 tbsp. freshly chopped rosemary
• 1 tbsp. freshly chopped thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

Method of Preparation:

1. Finely dice the figs and place into a pan with the water. Boil until tender and the liquid has reduced.

2. Finely chop the olives. Combine these into the pan with the figs, remove from the heat and add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, thyme, paprika and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mince the garlic cloves and stir these in.

3. Cover with cling film and place into the fridge overnight for the flavours to develop.

4. To serve, spoon the cream cheese onto a wooden platter and then spoon the tapenade over the cream cheese. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week and will only get better with time.

You could use a combination of green and black olives, it's entirely up to you. Dried herbs would also work if you can't get hold of fresh. This recipe serves six people.

Author: Laura Young.

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