Zucchini, Olives & Orange
"I like it when good unexpected things happen". - Unknown
"This might sound like an unexpected combo of ingredients, but it is a good unexpected.
I know green olives and orange meld well but the GO-On Tap tapenade, using Greek kalamata and black olives, was a new adventure. A good adventure.
My intention was to use my spiralizing machine to make curley-cue zucchini noodles but that didn't go well, so I just chopped the zucchini and went to work with my culinary creativity. If you have a spiral type machine, try it.
I chopped my raw zucchini and put in a bowl. I then mixed GO-On Tap olive tapenade, GO-On Tap blood orange oo, orange zest and juice of an orange, a pinch of salt and pepper, minced shallot and garlic. The consistency was pasty, not oily and thin like a vinaigrette. Mix this with the chopped zucchini and add some chopped parsley. This really was delightful. It tasted better after it had a chance to sit and chill in the fridge than when eaten straight away from being mixed. The tangy richness and brine of the tapenade was brightened by the orange in the olive oil, zest and juice. The mellowness of zucchini gave the crunch, the 'pow' was in the tapenade and orange. This will make a great side dish for any season.
Grill the zucchini if you'd like. Swap the blood orange oo and zest for GO-On Tap meyer lemon oo and zest. Swap roasted carrots for zucchini. As always, find your own good unexpected with all GO-On Tap olive oils. Pour. Savor. Enjoy."