Simply Delicious Artichoke Tapenade

If you need a quick dip for company, this is your recipe.

I always have canned artichokes on hand, but not always Castelvetrano olives, so I used Lucques olives instead, which are delicious green mild olives from France.
Believe it or not, Trader Joe's sells them in jars, from France, and they are great.

The only tedious part of this recipe is pitting the olives.
Just use the flat tip of a large chef's knife and smash them, the pit should come right out, like a cherry.

I didn't get too many great pics, the spread was gone before I could photograph it!

The funny thing is that I made this dip back in 2009 from Smitten Kitchen's site......and I added garlic scapes from my garden (I was much more creative back then!).

The recipe calls for 2 garlic cloves, but since I am not a fan of raw garlic, I cut it down to 1 clove, and it was plenty strong.

I served it with homemade pita chips (remember, I am NOT the pita chip lady!).

Artichoke Tapenade (adapted from David Lebovitz):

1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 cup pitted green olives
1 tbsp capers
14 oz. can of artichokes, drained well
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 tbsp olive oil
1/8 teaspoon chile powder
salt, to taste

Pit the olives and add them along w/ the rest of the ingredients to a food processor, or you can chop by hand.

Taste for seasoning. I added a bit more chile powder, because I like it spicy.

Can be made a few days ahead and kept in the fridge, but bring to room temp before serving.

Enjoy.