Red Pepper Tapenade
(A savory dip made using grilled red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, almonds, and basil leaves ).
Dips are not very common in Indian cuisine. We have chutneys and raitas which can be thought of as dip equivalents. However, when you travel the world, your food palate diversifies. You end up tasting different foods and developing a liking for them. That’s what travel did for me too... It introduced me to a great variety of foods and helped me look beyond Indian cuisine. Today I intend to share one such non-Indian recipe which can easily be made in our Indian kitchens. It’s a tapenade - basically a french chutney, lol!
Tapenade is a dip/spread served with bread/chips/crackers/appetizers. However, in many parts of the world, tapenades are used as a sauce to enhance the taste of some stew recipes. They also can be used as a marinade!
Tapenades are traditionally made with black olives but this recipe is an exception. We only use extra-virgin olive oil to make this dip. The star ingredient in this tapenade is the grilled red pepper! I am a fan of grilled stuff and so it’s no surprise that I love this dip! Try this lovely recipe and let me know how you like it.
Ingredients
2 red bell peppers/capsicum
10-12 cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup almonds
8-10 basil leaves
2 garlic pods
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp sugar
salt as per taste
Method
Wash the red peppers thoroughly and pat them dry. Brush oil on the outer surface(as shown in the video), and grill them on a direct flame. Keep turning the bell peppers to ensure all sides are properly grilled. Use a medium flame so that the peppers will cook properly.
Cut them into pieces and discard the middle portion with seeds.
Blanch the almonds by soaking them in water for 5-6 hours or boiling them in water for 1-2 minutes. Later remove their outer skin and use the inner white portion for this recipe.
Chop the basil leaves and set aside.
Halve the cherry tomatoes.
In a blender jar, add red peppers, cherry tomatoes, blanched almonds, basil leaves, garlic pods, extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and sugar. Blend to a smooth paste.
Refrigerate for 7-8 hours. This helps all the lovely flavors to blend in properly.
Finish by pouring some more extra-virgin olive on top.
THE GRILLED RED PEPPER TAPENADE IS READY TO BE SERVED!
SERVE HOT.
Notes -
You can grill the bell peppers in an oven too. Preheat the oven to 180-degree celsius. Cut the bell peppers into large pieces vertically. In a grill pan/tray, lay a baking sheet. Place the pieces over the tray. Brush oil on them coating them properly on both sides. Grill till they are charred (about 20-25 minutes). You can grill them on a grill pan too.
You can add black pepper powder to this tapenade if you like.
Spread this tapenade on a bread slice or use it as a pasta sauce. You can use this as a dip with crackers, chips, carrots, cucumbers, and yellow capsicum. Lay everything on a lazy Susan and place the dip bowl in the center.
You can replace the almonds with pine nuts.
If you don’t have cherry tomatoes use regular ripe tomatoes. I prefer using cherry tomatoes as they are sweeter than regular tomatoes.
Red Pepper Tapenade
Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers/capsicum
- 10-12 cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 8-10 basil leaves
- 2 garlic pods
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt as per taste
Method
- Wash the red peppers thoroughly and pat them dry. Brush oil on the outer surface(as shown in the video), and grill them on a direct flame. Keep turning the bell peppers to ensure all sides are properly grilled. Use a medium flame so that the peppers will cook properly.
- Cut them into pieces and discard the middle portion with seeds.
- Blanch the almonds by soaking them in water for 5-6 hours or boiling them in water for 1-2 minutes. Later remove their outer skin and use the inner white portion for this recipe.
- Chop the basil leaves and set aside.
- Halve the cherry tomatoes.
- In a blender jar, add red peppers, cherry tomatoes, blanched almonds, basil leaves, garlic pods, extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and sugar. Blend to a smooth paste.
- Refrigerate for 7-8 hours. This helps all the lovely flavors to blend in properly.
- Finish by pouring some more extra-virgin olive on top.
Notes
- You can grill the bell peppers in an oven too. Preheat the oven to 180-degree celsius. Cut the bell peppers into large pieces vertically. In a grill pan/tray, lay a baking sheet. Place the pieces over the tray. Brush oil on them coating them properly on both sides. Grill till they are charred (about 20-25 minutes). You can grill them on a grill pan too.
- You can add black pepper powder to this tapenade if you like.
- Spread this tapenade on a bread slice or use it as a pasta sauce. You can use this as a dip with crackers, chips, carrots, cucumbers, and yellow capsicum. Lay everything on a lazy Susan and place the dip bowl in the center.
- You can replace the almonds with pine nuts.
- If you don’t have cherry tomatoes use regular ripe tomatoes. I prefer using cherry tomatoes as they are sweeter than regular tomatoes.
Did you make this recipe?
Kindly let me know in the comments section below and tag @bitesandbokeh on INSTAGRAM.