Skip to main content
Snack

Fresco Olive Tapenade

A spread made from olives, capers, tomato paste, garlic, lemon juice, herbs, and olive oil.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Thyme and basil match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,768 recipes. Both carry terpineol, which smells pine, woody. The science ↓

Fresco Olive Tapenade

Ingredients

Directions

Make the tapenade

  1. Put everything into a food processor, except the olive oil.

  2. While you are blending it, pour in just enough oil to make it the consistency of a nice spread.

  3. Don't blend it too much; you should still be able to see chunks of olives in it.

Serve

  1. Eat this spread on a nice bread.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

182Calories
3 gProtein
15 gFat
14 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Olive1 large (4g)4
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Capers1 tbsp (9g) drained2
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Thyme + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,768 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

  2. Lemon + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,973 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Lemon + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,823 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  5. Tomato + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Black olives
Provide the main savory body and flavor of the spread.
Kalamata olives
Add rich, briny flavor and chunky texture to the spread.
Capers
Add sharp, briny acidity that brightens the spread.
Garlic
Adds pungent aroma and savory depth.
Olive oil
Adds fat and smoothness, loosening the blend into a spreadable consistency.

The step that matters

Blending only briefly. Over-blending turns the olives into a uniform paste and loses the desired chunky texture. Stopping early and adding oil gradually keeps the spread textured and prevents it becoming greasy or too loose.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, capers, tomato, garlic, lemon, thyme, basil):

  1. Oreganofits better
  2. Parsleyfits better
  3. Marjoramfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, capers, tomato, garlic, lemon, thyme, basil. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

FrittersFritters56 recipesCrisp CrackersCrisp Crackers7 recipes