Salad with croutons

300g ciabatta
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic
1 cucumber
1 red onion
1 red chilli
10 pitted black olives
2 tomatoes
150g mozzarella
10 basil leaves

Dressing:
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon orange juice
sugar

Cut ciabatta into 1cm cubes and fry in butter with the garlic clove until golden and crunchy. Discard garlic and set croutons aside.

Slice cucumber lengthwise, remove seeds, and slice crosswise into 1cm strips. Slice onion into half rings. Remove seeds from chilli and slice finely. Cut olives into rings. Mix all together with croutons. Add dressing.

Slice tomatoes and mozzarella. Stack salad, a mozzarella slice, salad, a tomato slice, basil leaf and salad into a tower (6-8 cm tall). Decorate with a basil leaf and serve.

Olive-capsicum tapenade

4 red capsicums, chopped
2T olive oil
50g olives, pitted
2 cloves crushed garlic
4T balsamic vinegar

Fry the capsicums until soft. Blend everything. Adjust vinegar to taste.

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What do the food critics say? Yum, as long as you like olives
What does the cook say? Easy party dip.

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Source: my neighbour

Couscous salad

Couscous
Quinoa (optional)
Spring onions or Spanish onions
Kalamata olives
Red capsicum
Feta cheese
Chick peas
Red chili (optional)
Mint
Olive oil
Cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar

For the quantities... well, as you like really. As a guide, I use about 1 can chickpeas, one large capsicum, one block feta, a couple of spring onions, and a handful of mint per 2 cups couscous.

Method
Prepare the couscous and quinoa according to instructions, chop up the onions, capsicum, olives, cheese, chili and mint, mix everything, add oil and vinegar to taste. Don't be shy with the vinegar - I'm always surprised at how much I need to add to get the taste right.

I've also made it without any oil - this is good too. We find it salty enough with the olives and feta, but you might like a bit more.

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What do the food critics say? YUM!
What does the cook say? My standard salad for BBQs, I even sometimes serve it as a complete meal. OK, I quite often serve it as a complete meal.

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Source: copied from something we had in Canada years ago, at the cafe in which the wife of T's fairy-godfather-to-be worked.

Fig-Olive Tapenade

1/2 cup stemmed and quartered dried Black Mission figs
1 cup water
1 cup black olives
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 Tbs capers, rinsed and drained
2 anchovy fillets
2 tsp whole-grain mustard
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary or thyme
1 1/2 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 – In a small saucepan, simmer the figs in the water with the lid askew for 10-20 minutes, until very tender. Drain.

2 – In a food processor, pulse the olives, figs, garlic, capers, anchovies, mustard, rosemary, and lemon juice to create a thick paste. Pulse in the olive oil until you’ve achieved a chunky-smooth paste. Don’t overdo it; good tapenade should be slightly rough. Season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Fig-Olive tapenade can be made up to two weeks in advance and stored in the fridge. It’s better served at least a day after it’s made.

Source