
Olive tapenade, referred to as pasta elias in Greek, is quite popular in Greece in the past few years. You can find a large selection of olive tapenades from Greek olive oil companies made from Greek olives. Basically a mixture of crushed olives, garlic, capers, and herbs, this condiment is a healthy and tasty alternative to mayonnaise and other sandwich spreads. It is a source of the good monounsaturated fats and low carb, for those watching their carbohydrate intake.
I particulaly like tapenade made with kalamata olives, it is so much more flavorful, I can just eat off the spoon! As an appetizer I like to use olive tapenade as an alternative to dip accompanied by some pencil thin bread sticks, carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes. You can spread it on small toasts or rusks, pita bread and spread some on chgicken too. And it is great in pasta. I also use it in sandwiches instead of mayo. I make what I call a “Greek salad sandwich”.
Olive Tapenade Greek Salad Sandwich
Spread some black olive tapenade on whole wheat bread; add sliced tomatoes, crumbled feta, thinly sliced onions and cucumber. Sprinkle the bread with oregano. This sandwich is really filling, you can fit one serving of vegetables in there, get about 4 grams of fiber and a small dose of antioxidants as well.
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Black Olive Tapenade

Ingredients
- 7 ounces olives rinsed and pit removed
- 1 garlic clove
- Capers
- Pepper
- Herbs such as thyme or rosemary or oregano
Instructions
- Grind the olives into a paste in a food processor.
- Add the crushed garlic clove continue mixing.
- Add the herbs and continue mixing until the paste is smooth.
- Add a pinch of black pepper
- Serve topped with a few capers on top
Notes
Photos by Elena Paravantes © All Rights Reserved
4 Comments
[…] a year ago I had written about olive tapenade and had mentioned that it really is not a Greek product, but Provincial French […]
[…] in the past and every time I do I learn something new. At first I noted that tapenades are a Provincial French ingredient, then upon further research I find out that olive tapenade may have its origins in […]
wow! amazing post it’s really helpful for me.
Hi Elena, I made this Pasta Elias today. It is extremely hot and humid today in Tarpon Springs, and cooking over a hot stove was not an option. I made this my meal by adding the tapenade over one slice of toasted whole wheat bread, shredded tuna fish and a few oil marinated sun-dried tomatoes, and a side Greek salad. One bite took me back to Greece…what an enjoyable dinner. Will be making this quite often. This definitely hit the spot!!!!