Olivada is the Spanish name for tapenade. It is a paté made with black olives. There is a version with green olives too but originally, the olivada is made with black ones.
In Spain the best variety of olives is the “black olive from Aragon” or empeltre. It is a light olive, with a fruity flavour.
If you cannot find this olive, I recommend you to use the best you can find in the market. maybe Kalamata olives can be a good option. It is always better if they are in olive oil than in brine. If you can’t find in olive oil, you can marinate them overnight in olive oil (and can add some herbs like rosemary or thyme). If they have the bone, they will have more flavour. You will have to pit them and it can be a bit more laborious work but you will appreciate the result 🙂
The French version, tapenade, adds capers in the original recipe. I prefer an olivada with just the olive flavour as it is easy to use with other ingredients like the courgette, goat’s cheese, tomato and olivada that I posted a few weeks ago.
But obviously, you can add other flavours and season the olives with different herbs like rosemary or thyme to enhance the flavour.
Ingredients for the olivada
- 250 g black olives
- 1 small clove of garlic
- 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
You can make a bunch of olivada and keep it in the fridge as it is a nice dipping sauce, a salad dressing, or even for use in other recipes.
Drain the black olives and pit them. Put them in a blender and add the garlic, a pinch of salt and black pepper, and the extra virgin olive oil. Mix on low speed. To get a consistent texture, you may add a bit more extra virgin olive oil, but not too much as the olivada should not be runny.
