Lemon Fig Tapenade Recipes

Steps:

• Combine figs and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, and liquid has reduced. Remove from heat, and stir in the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, thyme, and cayenne. Add olives and garlic, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight to allow flavors to blend.
• Unwrap cream cheese block, and place on a serving platter. Spoon tapenade over cheese, and sprinkle with walnuts. Serve with slices of French bread or crackers.

Steps:

• Combine garlic, olives, anchovies, capers, thyme, rosemary and lemon juice in an electric blender. Slowly drip the olive oil into the blender while you are blending the ingredients together. Blend until a paste is formed.

Steps:

• 1. In a small saucepan, simmer the figs in the water with the lid askew for 10 to 20 minutes, until very tender. Drain.
• 2. If using a mortar and pestle, mash the olives with the garlic, capers, anchovies, mustard, and rosemary. (Sometimes I chop the olives first, which means less pounding later.) Pound in the figs. Once they are broken up, stir in the lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
• 3. If using a food processor, pulse the olives, figs, garlic, capers, anchovies, mustard, rosemary, and lemon juice to create a thick paste. Pulse in the olive oil until you've achieved a chunky-smooth paste. Don't overdo it; good tapenade should be slightly rough. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Steps:

• 1. In a medium-sized saucepan, simmer the figs in the water for about 30 minutes, until very tender. Drain, reserving a few tablespoons of the liquid. 2. If using a food processor, pulse the pitted olives, drained figs, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, capers, and fresh rosemary or thyme to create a thick paste. Pulse in the olive oil until you've achieved a chunky-smooth paste. Season with black pepper and salt, if necessary. (The spread can be thinned with a bit of the reserved fig poaching liquid.) 3. If using a mortar and pestle, mash the olives with the mustard, garlic, capers, and fresh rosemary or thyme. Pound in the drained figs. Once they are broken up, add in the lemon juice, olive oil and season with salt and pepper, and fig juice, if necessary. Serve tapenade with slices of baguette or pita triangles that have been lightly brushed with olive oil and perhaps sprinkled with salt and fresh thyme, or a dusting of chili powder, then toasted on a baking sheet in the oven until nice and crisp. A tip from Carrie is to make this tapenade at least one day before you intend to serve it, which allows the flavors to meld and develop.

Steps:

• Note: I have prepared this appetizer several times using small pieces of brie or crumbled Gorgonzola to replace the goat cheese. Sweet and tangy flavours blend well.
• Combine figs and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes, stirring often until liquid is absorbed, place fig mixture into a small bowl.
• Stir in olives, vinegar, oil, thyme and pepper, set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Top each toasted muffin half with cheese and 1 tablespoon of fig tapenade.
• Place muffin halves on a foil-lined baking sheet.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese melts.
• Cut each baked muffin in half or quarters for bite-sized pieces.
• If you use baguette slices, arrange on a baking sheet, broil until lightly toasted on one side only; then spread untoasted side with tapenade and top with cheese.
• Garnish with thyme sprigs. Serve and enjoy!
• On the day of the party, assemble the "mini pizzas" up to an hour in advance, cover and leave at room temperature until ready to bake.

Steps:

• Place figs in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit until soft and pliable, 5 to 10 minutes, then drain and coarsely chop.
• In a food processor, combine chopped figs, olives, anchovies, lemon juice, garlic and rosemary. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil, and process until mixture becomes a paste, 1 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides once or twice. Taste and add more lemon juice and olive oil if you like.
• Spoon tapenade into a bowl or crock and serve alongside thinly sliced prosciutto, persimmon wedges and bread, crackers or breadsticks.

Steps:

• 1. Turn on the food processor and add the garlic cloves to the bowl with the motor running. Once the garlic is finely chopped, drop in the figs and anchovies. Continue to process until finely chopped. 2. Add the olives and capers and again process until finely chopped. 3. Transfer the mixture to a bowl or a container with a lid. Add the Lemon Oil or olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, brandy and pepper. Mix well and taste. Adjust the seasonings to suit your tastes. 4. Either serve the tapenade immediately, or refrigerate in a covered container. Bring the tapenade to room temperature before serving. 5. Enjoy! Note: This makes about 1 cup of tapenade. Instead of brandy, you can use Cognac. Lori suggests serving the tapenade with a mild goat cheese (which is what I did). Don't forget to add lots of crusty bread!