Cinnamon Free Ginger-Lime Olive Tapenade
Briny, bold, and bright with citrus, this tapenade is the kind of condiment that makes everything it touches taste more interesting. Kalamata and green olives are blitzed together with capers, garlic, and a generous hit of freshly grated ginger, then lifted with lime zest and juice for a flavor combination that feels genuinely unexpected. The food processor does the heavy lifting in just a few quick pulses — the goal is a rough, spreadable texture that still has some personality, not a smooth paste. A short rest at room temperature before serving is the secret step that lets the ginger and lime really sink into the olives and deepen the whole thing. Store-bought tapenades often sneak in warming spices that can be a real problem for anyone avoiding cinnamon, so making your own means you know exactly what's in the bowl. Spread it over crusty bread, spoon it alongside grilled fish, or use it to punch up a cheese board — it's endlessly versatile and comes together with almost no effort.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
- ½ cup pitted green olives
- 2 tbsp capers, drained
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 1 tsp lime zest (from about 1 lime)
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 small garlic clove, roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the Kalamata olives, green olives, capers, garlic, grated ginger, lime zest, lime juice, and black pepper in the bowl of a food processor.
- 2
Pulse 8–10 times, until the mixture is coarsely chopped and no whole olives remain — the texture should be rough and spreadable, not a smooth paste.
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