Afternoon Snack: Sundried Tomato Tapenade on Multigrain Baguette with Kale Chips [Vegan]

If you’re anything like us, I’m sure you enjoy a little snacking in between lunch and diner, and if you’re looking for something new and yummy to try out, then you have come to the right place.

This tapenade is savoury, flavourful, and just oh so satisfying, while the kale chips offer a crunchy, salty indulgence.

The first recipe is taken from Food52’s Vegan cookbook, and can be found here https://food52.com/recipes/21324-polenta-squares-with-sun-dried-tomato-and-walnut-tapenade

Though I put them second in this post, I would suggest starting with the kale chips, so that you can make the tapenade while they are baking.

Sun-Dried Tomato & Walnut Tapenade

Ingredients you will need:

2 cups boiling water
¾ cup sun-dried tomatoes, not packed in oil
⅔ cup walnuts
2 cloves garlic
2 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs fresh rosemary
½ tsp salt
Pepper
⅓ cup olive oil

Before we get started, I’d like to highlight some of the substitutions I have made from the original recipe:
Rather than 2 tbs of lemon juice, I used 1.5 tbs.
I did not have fresh rosemary on hand, and so substituted 1 tsp dried ground rosemary.
I found ⅓ cup of olive oil to be excessive, so I used 2 tbs (which we still consider a little excessive but hey, you have to live a little!)

The first step is to soak your sun-dried tomatoes in the boiling water for 20 minutes. Once this step is done, I would suggest retaining roughly ½ cup to thin your tapenade later..
Pulse your walnuts in a food processor until ground, then add the tomatoes and garlic, and pulse until roughly chopped. Add in the lemon juice, rosemary, salt and pepper (to taste) and pulse until well mixed. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and process until mixture has a nice pesto consistency.
This is where the ½ cup of reserved sun-dried tomato water comes into play. If your tapenade is looking a little thick, you can thin it out by adding water slowly. I wound up using about ¼ cup in total.
I bought a vegan multigrain baguette, sliced it, and broiled the slices until nice and golden.

Baked Kale Chips

Ingredients you will need:

1 bunch curly kale
2 tbs olive oil
Salt
Pepper (optional)

Preheat your oven to 275 F (135 C)
Wash and cut the kale into chip-sized pieces. Coat in olive oil, and make sure to massage into every nook and cranny, as this will produce a much better result.
Spread kale on two baking sheet, and season generously with salt and pepper
Bake for 1-15 minutes, then rotate pan and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until crispy.

Happy snacking everyone :)