Olive Tapenade
Ingredients:
2 cups pitted black olives, such as Kalamata, see notes above
grated zest and juice of ½ to 1 lemon
pinch crushed red pepper flakes, optional
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
2 cups (about) parsley, divided roughly into two 1-cup portions
1/3 cup olive oil, plus more to taste
Directions:
Pulse the olives, zest, juice of half a lemon, pepper flakes, garlic, capers, vinegar, and half of the parsley in the food processor until a coarse paste is formed—be sure to pulse to avoid turning the purée into complete mush. It may take 20 to 30 quick pulses.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Finely chop the remaining parsley, and stir it in. Stir in the olive oil. Taste; then adjust seasoning as necessary with more lemon, pepper flakes, or olive oil. I almost always end up using the remaining half lemon, and I always stir in more olive oil by the tablespoon until the mixture both looks and tastes right.
Store olive tapenade in the refrigerator for 1 week. Bring to room temperature before serving. If the parsley looks dull after the tapenade has spent a few days in the fridge, spruce it up by adding freshly chopped parsley.