Let’s face it, we’ve all gone a little crazy at Costco. And I’m no exception.
Even though I usually am only cooking for one or two, I love Costco for their great meat, excellent selection of bulk organic foods and good quality. The challenge is always making sure that I don’t buy too many things that I can’t freeze or have a short shelf life. Even then, figuring out how to use bulk quantities (even for items I love) can be a little daunting.
A few weeks ago, I bought some delicious mammoth olives a friend recommended. Not only are they perfectly salty and meaty, but they’re firm and last for a long time in the refrigerator. I love to snack on them all alone and slice them into salads, but I had high hopes for incorporating them into an entree since I had so many. (Did I mention they’re sold in a 2-jar pack?)
Olive and Almond Tapenade Pasta
Serves 4
1 cup black olives
1/2 cup mammoth green olives
1/4 cup almonds (I only had a roasted/salted version available.)
1 clove of garlic
juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt and pepper (if needed)
cooked pasta, drained with approximately 1 cup of the water you boiled the pasta in set aside
1. Chop together your black olives, green olives and almonds in a food processor. Blend until the almonds are broken down into bits with no large chunks.
2. Blend in garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Before you add any salt and pepper, make sure to taste your tapenade. Olives are really salty (and if you use salted almonds too that will be additional salt!) so you may find you don’t need to add ANY salt like I did. Add pepper if desired.
3. Combine 1/4 cup of the tapenade per serving of pasta and toss. Add the reserved pasta water by the 1/4 cup to your desired saucy consistency. Garnish with parmesan cheese.
The end result is earthy and tasty tossed with pasta- plus you can save any leftover tapenade in the refrigerator to use in a more classic way: toast some baguette slices, spread a thin layer of goat cheese and top with a spoonful of tapenade! Yummy!
