BLACK AND GREEN OLIVE TAPENADE
Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck, "Pizza, Pasta & More!," Random House, 2000
1 cup Nicoise olives, pitted
1 cup small green French olives (Picholine), pitted
1/4 cup oven-dried tomatoes, drained, recipe follows
1 tablespoon capers
1 garlic clove
1 anchovy fillet
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Crostini, recipe follows
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
In a pot of boiling water, blanch tomatoes. Drain and refresh in ice water. Drain. Peel, core, cut into quarters, and remove seeds.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and arrange the tomato quarters on the tray, cut side down. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with thyme and garlic. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and sugar, and sprinkle evenly over the tomatoes.
Bake until the tomatoes begin to shrivel, about 1 hour. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, transfer to a container. Pour olive oil over and cover the container. Refrigerate and use as needed. Yield: 1 1/4 cups