African Spiced Parsley Mint Pistou

Served over Roasted Tomatoes, Olives, and Artichoke Hearts With Burrata Cheese

Yes! This is THE hors d’oeuvre to serve to your most treasured (and picky) guests. An appetizer all others will aspire to. Besides the colors, and the flavors, and the cheese (oh, my!,) the pistou’s single MOST important ingredient is the Single Varietal Olive Oil. It flawlessly brings everything into focus without competing with the other ingredients. We chose one robust in flavor profile to provide a bit of peppery bite yet with a clean and beautifully vegetal taste. I can honestly say I would recommend this oil ALWAYS be in your kitchen.

Recipe Credit: Camine Pappas. To read Camine’s blog post on this recipe and learn more about her fun Bling Cooking Classes visit her website: IFeelLikeCooking.com.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 pints cherry tomatoes or dark red heirloom small tomatoes
  • 1 large jalapeño pepper
  • 2 tablespoons Olive This! Single Varietal Olive Oil for roasting the tomatoes and jalapeño
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
  • 1 can quartered artichoke hearts drained
  • 1 pint assorted cocktail olives
  • 2 knobs fresh buffalo burrata cheese
  • 4-5 lemon slices for garnish

Pistou Ingredients

  • 2 large handfuls of fresh Italian flat leaf parsley (about 1 ½ C whole leaves with most of stems removed)
  • 1 handful of fresh mint leaves
  • 1 tablespoon chunks of preserved lemon pieces
  • 2 large garlic cloves
  • ½ to ¾ cup Olive This! Single Varietal Olive Oil, select a robust or medium intensity oil

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place all the tomatoes and the jalapeño in a baking dish lined with parchment paper. Drizzle the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus ½ teaspoon black pepper. Toss. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until you see a little bit of char on the tomatoes and jalapeño. Put the tomatoes in a bowl and set aside.

Next prepare the pistou. In a medium sized food processor, add the parsley, mint, garlic, the preserved lemon, and half the roasted jalapeño. Add the salt and pepper and about ¼ cup of the olive oil. Pulse and blend. Scraping the sides after the first blending to incorporate all ingredients. Add a bit more oil. Blend again. Keep adding oil and blending until you get a very loose paste.

To assemble on a platter, alternate a line of the tomatoes (drain off most off the liquid), artichokes, olives, and cheese. Ladle the pistou across the top and dot with lemon slices. Serve with crusty bread.

©Recipe and Photo Copyright Camine Pappas, 2013-2023. All rights reserved.

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