During the last few months, I believe FrugalFeeding has undergone a reasonably subtle change of direction. If asked for a synonym of the word ‘frugal’, I believe most people would, somewhat wrongly, pluck the word ‘cheap’ from their vocabulary. However, the word frugal is slightly more nuanced than its usual usage might suggest. As the tagline for this blog might suggest, a rather more suitable synonym would be ‘economical’. I believe this recipe encapsulates my slight change in thinking really rather well. Olive tapenade is unlikely to win any awards for being the cheapest, or most necessary, culinary creation. However, this recipe provides an economical solution to one’s desire to indulge in this rather punchy side-dish. If bought at a supermarket, tapenade bears a rather exorbitant price. A price which no man, or indeed woman, in their right mind would be happy to pay. Make tapenade at home, however, and one’s monetary misdemeanour is lessened somewhat. This means that although money has been spent on something which isn’t necessarily necessary, the refusal to buy sub-par and overpriced tapenade has resulted in sound economic policy. Congratulations, you are now on your way to becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer – a position which is perhaps less esteemed than it was in the days of Gladstone.

This recipe should not be attempted by the faint-hearted. As you might imagine, after reading the recipe below, this spread/dip packs some pretty strong flavours. Raw garlic and olives are a match made in heaven, but only if one is used to stomaching such things. As such, it is best eaten with something rather plain and unassuming – a lovely slice of bread, for instance. Believe me, this tapenade will dominate anything it is paired with. Indeed, my favourite way to eat it is to spread it on a thick slice of white bread with a little mayonnaise and sliced tomato. The addition of the tomato serves to lighten the lunch somewhat and provide a little freshness. Please don’t let this talk of strong, overpowering flavours put you off – it is truly delicious, a real delicacy.

Black Olive Tapenade

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

• 160g pitted black olives

• 2 cloves of garlic

• The juice of 1 lemon

• A handful of fresh parsley

• Olive Oil

• Salt and Pepper

Method:

1. Bung all of the ingredients into a food processor along with a jolly good glug of extra virgin olive oil. Blitz it until the mixture achieves the required consistency. I like mine left ever so slightly chunky. See above for a jolly good serving suggestion.

Cost: Olives in brine can be picked up for a rather good price these days. You may want to experiment with the type of olive as certain brands may be a little bitter for your own personal preference. However, I generally find that this is more of a problem with green olives. As such the entire bowl of tapenade can be made for little over £1, not bad considering a third of the amount costs nearly three times as much in my local supermarket.