As an olive grower, it’s a given that we love tapenade. But we don’t just make the same version over and over again. We like to mix it up using a variety of our olives and adding in unexpected hits of flavor. You can adjust the tastes by adding different herbs, spices and condiments to vary the palate.

The last time we posted a Mediterranean version of our tapenade on our Facebook Page, we got a great suggestion from Chef Joseph Fasy.  He recommended using tapenade to top a piece of fresh fish or a rack of lamb. We thought this sounded like an excellent idea!

So for today’s fresh fish topping, we combined our California Queen Olives with our Sun Dried Black Olives along with an unexpected ingredient, Chipotles en Adobo.  The smoky heat is the perfect compliment to our briny olives in this easy spread.

If you’re looking for a simple, delicious dinner, try our Roasted Fish with Chipotle Tapenade.

Ingredients:

Olinda Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup Olinda California Queen Olives, chopped

1/4 cup Olinda Sun Dried Black Olives, pitted and chopped

2 oil-packed anchovies

2 tablespoons chipotles in adobo

4 6-ounce filets Fish such as Cod or Wreckfish

Method:

  1. Place the olives, anchovies and chipotles en adobo in a food processor and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil.

  2. Pulse the olive mixture, scraping down the sides as needed.

  3. Continue pulsing, adding more olive oil as needed, to make a coarse spreadable paste.

  4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

  5. Pat the fish dry and season with salt and pepper.

  6. Spread the tapenade over one side of the fish.

  7. Place the filets on a parchment lined sheet pan.

  8. Cook until the fish is firm and flaky, about 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.