Oven Dried Tomato and Black Olive Spread

This recipe is based on one from my cookbook, Passover – A Kosher Collection. I hadn’t made this in years, but when I was in Israel last summer, most of the hotel breakfast buffets had simple olive spreads and tomato spreads, and I kept finding myself adding a little of each to my bread every morning and loving it!

Though the tomatoes spend some time in the oven, this is a simple recipe that takes little active time to put together. I’m making a batch for Passover this year, keeping it in a container in my fridge and pulling it out in the mornings to spread over my matzo.

Oven Dried Tomato and Black Olive Spread

A mixture of slowly roasted grape tomatoes and black olives flavoured with garlic and thyme - delicious spread on matzo or used a dip.


Ingredients

  • 1 lb. / 454 grams grape tomatoes, cut in half
  • 3 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil (plus more, if needed)
  • salt and pepper
  • 6 sprigs of thyme
  • 7 1/2 oz / 210 grams pitted Israeli black olives (1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 275ºF / 135°C.
  2. Place the tomatoes cut-side up in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  3. Drizzle with olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper, sprinkle with garlic slices and thyme sprigs.
  4. Place in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, turn the tray and cook another 1 1/2 hours, or until the tomatoes are shrivelled but not compltely dried out. The edges on some of them will be browned and the tomatoes will shrink by at least half.
  5. Remove from the oven and let cool.
  6. Place the tomatoes, olives and the crushed garlic clove in the bowl of a food processor and puree until almost smooth. If the spread is too thick and stiff, add another 1-2 Tbsp. of olive oil and puree again until well mixed. Taste and check for seasoning.
  7. Transfer to a serving bowl or into an air-tight container for the fridge. Refridgerate for 4-5 days.

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