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Black Kalamata Olive Tapenade

Just as the famous saying: “Every woman needs A Little Black Dress in the closet” I need a little black spread in the fridge.. Just like the dress, it is simple but versatile and can be “dressed” up or down. Spread it on toasts, Crostini, sandwiches or add it to pasta dishes and more..

Takes minutes to make and it stays fresh for a long time. I did not add salt because the olives were already very salty. Depending on the olives you’re going to use, adjust the salt, after tasting, since the spread somehow concentrate the flavors.

The pesto paste I used for this recipe is one that I’ve been using for many years, I was so happy to find the mark ‘Vegan’ on it! If you can’t find it where you live, you might find something similar or make your own. It contains basil, sunflower and olive oils, salt, pine nuts, and garlic.

Ingredients

3/4 lb. Kalamata Olives, pitted

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil

2 Cloves Crushed Garlic

Juice of ½ Lemon

1 ½ Pesto Paste

1 Tbsp. Herbes De Provence

½ tsp. Oregano

Black Pepper

Preperation

Mix all of the ingredients except for the lemon juice in a food processor, add the lemon juice gradually as needed, (you might need less lemon) Blend until it becomes a smooth paste/spread. Place in a glass container and drizzle some olive oil on top.

Tofu Sandwich with Caramelized Onion

The shortest career I ever had was as a Sandwich Delivery Company Co-Owner. (wooof… to the title…;)). My then boyfriend and I decided to start up a sandwich delivery business. What could be so hard? we thought, we know how to make sandwiches, people are hungry and we can deliver to their work place. Sounds like the beginning of an empire right? The next day we woke up- early, went to the bakery and bought 50 freshly baked baguettes and some stuff to put in them. We made beautiful sandwiches, wrapped them nicely in a huge pink basket and went skipping into the horizon like Little Red Riding Hood. Well not really.. we just went to knock on office doors, car mechanic shops and other businesses.

We were so embarrassed to walk around carrying this ridiculous big pink basket and we didn’t have much success. By the end of the day we closed shop and that was the end of it. At least we ate baguette sandwiches for the next 2 weeks…

One of the things I learned from that experience is that the most important part of a sandwich is the bread, as my friend said: “If the bread is good -the sandwich is good”!

Preferably, It’s better to have it all good, the bread, the spread and the filling just like this tofu, veggie, caramelized onion baguette sandwich, Bon Appetite!

Ingredients

1 French Baguette or Hero

1 Pack Extra Firm Tofu

Adobo Spice Mix (or any spice mix you like)

Caramelized Purple Onions

1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup

Roasted Red Peppers (Better to make in advance)

Black Olive Tapenade

Bunch of Baby Arugula

2 Cloves of Garlic

¼ tsp. Dried Basil

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Preparation

The best way to save time is to make everything in advance (except for the tofu and toasting the bread with garlic)

Caramelize the onions in a non stick pan, Start with Medium heat and turn down to low heat, stir occasionally, add a little water every few minutes when the onion starts to stick to the pan. Add salt and maple syrup (to fully caramelize would takes 30-45 minutes). I use 4-5 medium onions, its enough for more than 2 sandwiches so there is left over for other uses.

Roast the red peppers: with a sharp knife, make small incisions on whole peppers, roast them in the oven until the skin is getting dark brown. remove from the oven and cover to help release the skin. after cooling peel the thin skin, cut and marinade them in apple cider vinegar and salt.

Slice the tofu into about ¼ Inch thick pieces. Dust the tofu generously with salt and spices. Fry in oil for a few minutes on each side, until golden on the edges.

Cut open and brush the baguette with a mixture of 2 Tbsp. olive oil, crushed garlic, dried basil, salt and black pepper. I recommend a garlic crusher, it makes it so quick and easy.

Toast the bread face down in a toaster/panini maker for a minute or two and start layering the olive tapenade, arugula, tofu, roasted peppers and caramelized onion.