Amanda Laird: Antipasto with summer herb pesto and tapenade

Antipasto with summer herb pesto and tapenade. Photo / Babiche Martens

Serves 4

Pesto

2 cups combined fresh herbs eg basil, mint, parsley, coriander
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 Tbs lightly toasted pine nuts
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt
80g freshly grated parmesan cheese

Tapenade

1 cup big, fat black olives, stoned and chopped (don't use the tinned sliced variety that taste like plastic)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 anchovies
2 tsp capers
¼ cup freshly chopped parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

A selection of breads, cheeses, deli meats and a jar of pickled onions

1 To make the pesto; using either a food processor or a mortar and pestle, roughly chop the herbs then blend with the oil, pine nuts and garlic. If using a food processor, stop pulsing once or twice to scrape down the sides and give the ingredients a stir.

2 Add salt to taste then stir through the parmesan and spoon into a jar. Cover with a thin film of olive oil and refrigerate until needed.

3 To make the tapenade; roughly chop the olives and add to a food processor with the garlic, anchovies, capers, parsley and lemon. Blend to combine, again stopping to scrape down the sides.

4 Continue blending while adding the oil then taste for seasoning. Spoon into a jar and cover with a thin film of olive oil before refrigerating.