Tapenade

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Havana Tapas Bar is a great spot in Dublin, where they serve a huge range of hot and cold tapas, wine, cocktails (perfect mojitos!) and beers. Even though every street in Salamanca is lined with traditional and trendy bars which serve a huge range of interesting tapas all day long, the atmosphere and range of fresh recipes in Havanas on Georges Street can’t be beat. It’s the sort of place you can start on a long night out without feeling too full to function. However, it can add up rather quickly and end up on the pricey side of things depending on how many various tapas dishes you order…but sharing a portion of their tortilla chips and a selection of dips is a must.

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The tortilla chips come with three dips: homemade pesto, hummus and olive tapenade; which is actually a French dish, usually eaten as a starter on toasted bread.

I haven’t experienced any kind of tapenade in Salamanca so far, and I’ve been living in the city for nearly 6 months. So I decided to make my own…although it’s not a perfect replica of Havana’s popular dip, it still tastes really summery and fresh. I omitted capers, a popular tapenade ingredient as they weren’t easy to find, but the rest resembles a traditional tapenade, originating from the sunny South of France.

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Ingredients:

1 can of black pitted olives. (Most cans are 200-250g)
1 large garlic clove (I used two, but ignore the image, it was far too acidic!)
A squeeze of lemon juice
1 anchovy
2 tablespoons of olive oil

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Method:

Toss everything into a food processor. Blend until the ingredients form a paste with a gritty-looking texture.

Serve on focaccia or toasted baguette or as a tortilla or crudités dip.

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