Xanthan Gum Free Pomegranate & Mint Olive Tapenade
Briny, bright, and just a little unexpected, this tapenade takes the classic Mediterranean spread somewhere genuinely exciting. Kalamata and green olives get pulsed with capers, garlic, lemon, and a warm hint of cumin, then folded by hand with juicy pomegranate arils and fresh mint — the result is bold and savory with little bursts of sweetness in every bite. The hand-folding step is key: keeping the arils whole and the herbs out of the food processor means the finished tapenade has real texture and color that a blitzed-to-death version just can't match. Because every ingredient here is a whole, recognizable food — olives, citrus, fresh herbs, olive oil — there's no need to scan labels for stabilizers or thickening agents that can sneak into store-bought versions. A 30-minute chill in the fridge lets the flavors knit together beautifully, so it's a great make-ahead option for entertaining. Serve it spread on crusty bread, spooned over grilled fish, or alongside a cheese board and watch it disappear fast.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 1 ½ cups pitted kalamata olives
- ½ cup pitted green olives
- ½ cup pomegranate arils
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp capers, drained
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the Kalamata olives, green olives, capers, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, black pepper, and cumin in a food processor. Pulse 8–10 times until the mixture is coarsely chopped and no whole olives remain, but the texture is still chunky — not a smooth paste.
- 2
Add the extra virgin olive oil and pulse 3–4 more times until the oil is incorporated and the tapenade holds together loosely.
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