Olive Tapenade with Sun-dried Tomatoes

This is from foodnetwork.ca. There are many variations. Most olives are not raw. Some health food stores have raw olives that are sun dried and these are expensive but very tasty so when I am poor i use any kind even canned olives. Lifestyles Market in Victoria sells a fair trade Sun-dried Bojita Olive from Peru that is quite nice. Capers are raw but it is nearly impossible to find capers that were not preserved with a somewhat nasty vinegar. Most plain vinegars are just Acetic Acid and not that good for you (hard on stomachs). Apple Cider Vinegars (usually raw) and Balsamic Vinegars (not raw as grapes are first boiled) are nutritious, but 3 tbs of capers will not hurt you much and capers are what makes the taste in this dish.

Ingredients:

• Olives, pitted (1 cup any kind)
• Sun-dried Tomatoes (2/3 cup)
• Capers (3 tbs)
• Basil leaves (1/2 cup)
• Olive Oil (6 tbs)

Blend all ingredients together in a blender or food processor. Most tapenade fans like it chunky. I lean toward smooth so I blend longer. Also I add more capers then most people do. You should start with 1-2 tbs as capers have a very strong flavor. You can use this spread as a veggie dip or in lettuce and nori wraps. I sometimes add it to the top of a salad or as a nice little side dish. Other ingredients for this dish can be nuts such as walnuts, cashews or pine nuts, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, tomatoes etc. Experiment. This keeps a week covered in the fridge. Salud!