Kalamata and green olives delicately infused with rosemary and garlic olive oil, capers and black pepper and blended into a deeply aromatic and rich olive tapenade. 
Easy 5 Minute Appetizer
It is just as simple as 5 minutes and 6 little ingredients and you too can have this delightful and fun appetizer on your table for the holidays or anytime. You are just going to love the flavor of the rosemary and garlic infused olives with a bit of zest from a little bit of capers and fresh cracked pepper. If you are an anti-caper person, then skip the capers and add a little lemon zest instead.
How to serve Rosemary and Garlic Infused Olive Tapenade
Rosemary and garlic infused olive tapenade is great on toasted crostini bread, crackers or even on raw veggies as a dip. It is even delicious to swerve as a part of our DIY Bagel Bar Brunch.
Rosemary the Underutilized herb
When I was infusing the fresh rosemary and garlic into the olive oil, my whole house smelled amazing. It reminded me of our journey to the French Riviera and our side excursion to St-Marguerite Island. I know you have heard me talk about this gorgeous place before but smelling wild rosemary growing in the forest and along the coast line brings a culinary odyssey to the highest level.
Olive tapenade is a very popular hor de voures in the south of France. I tasted many different versions during our trip. As delightful as they are, I could do without the anchovies. Yes, I am an anti-anchovy eater. I found that anchovies, as delightful as they are, can be replaced with herbs to replace the saltiness. My herb of choice was rosemary. This recipe is happily vegan as well as gluten-free (if you enjoy with cut up veggies) and is lactose free too.
Mediterranean Diet
As we know, the Mediterranean diet is has some health benefits by using olive oil  instead of other fats and also lots of fresh herbs to infuse flavor instead of salt. This Rosemary and Garlic infused Olive tapenade has so many ways it can be used to really give some many dishes extra flavor. Maybe you would like to toss in a tablespoon or so in your favorite gluten-free pasta, add it as a topping to your baked chicken or even just on its own with a few crackers. It is all up to you.
I used pitted olives and it decreased preparation time. If you need to pit your olives, just set them on a cutting board and crush the olives with the side of your chopping knife and then it should be relatively easy to remove the pit.
Spanish Tapas
I served my rosemary and garlic infused olive tapenade with toasted crostini bread with a little brushed olive and toasted in the oven for about 10 minutes until slightly golden and crunchy. I also have some rosemary and black olive and poppy-seed biscuits that I think would be delicious with this as well.
I guess I have been a little olive crazed lately and if you have missed my Spanish Olive Meatballs with Red Pepper and Tomato Wine Sauce be sure to check out this other fun appetizer for the holiday.
New Years gathering or any social gathering around the holidays does not need to be complicated. You could crack out that old wooden chopping board and add a few cheeses, crackers, grapes and of course your delicious Rosemary and Garlic Infused Olive Tapenade and you will be the Hostess with the Mostess!
More Delicious Appetizers
Best Italian Stuffed Artichokes
Thai Firecracker Party Appetizer
Lemon Lavender Goat Cheese Spread
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Rosemary and Garlic Infused Olive Tapenade
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 sprigs rosemary fresh whole
- 2 cloves garlic
smashed whole - 250 grams olives (I used mixed green and kalamata pitted olives)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp capers (if you do not like capers add 1 teaspoon lemon zest instead)
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan, add olive oil, fresh sprigs of rosemary and garlic cloves. Fry for about 2-3 minutes until aromatic and garlic is golden brown. Â Remove the garlic and rosemary sprig from the pan and allow the oil to cool slightly. (If you use olives in olive oil then you can use this oil)
- Add Add drained and pitted olives, black pepper capers and cooled rosemary and garlic infused oil into the food processor and blend until coarsely ground. Add a teaspoon of fresh chopped rosemary to mixture as a garnish if you desire.
- Serve delicious Rosemary and Garlic Infused Olive Tapenade on toasted crostini breads, crackers, fresh veggies or even as a topping to your next chicken dish. Enjoy!
LOVE olive tapenade! However, I am not a huge fan of rosemary. I wish I was but I’m not. And I love anchovies! I was always the person to order a side of anchovies whenever we got pizza. Either way, this recipe sounds delish, I love the use of the capers. I always keep some higher quality olive oil for dishes like this.
My son is a huge olive fan. My husband and I were very surprised when we found it out. What kind of 7 year old (back then) loves olives (and he’s Asian kid!). LOL. I mean it’s very rare among our friends’ kids. Anyway, he’s very much into tapenade and I can imagine he will clear this bowl up all by himself. 🙂
Far out your pictures are gorgeous. Olives are a challenge for me, I want to love them, they look so delightful, but every time I try and eat them, the tastebuds so ‘No Deal’. I remember back at Chef school years ago making tapinade, we had to try everything we made, the teacher stood over me until I swallowed the spoonful of blitzed olive. My eyes watered and I choked back. Funny now, at the time I was ready to hang up my cheffies. LOL! Great recipe tho, your photos almost make me want to try eating it again. 🙂
Thanks for the story Anna and the good laugh as I can picture you turning as green as the olives. A few years ago… ok well maybe more like 20 years ago, I would not touch an olive with a 10 foot pole but something happened over the years and my palate has changed and now I love them.