CopyKat.com is the creation of Stephanie Manley. Stephanie started publishing recipes on the web in 1995 as a means to capture her family recipes in a format that they would not be thrown away.
Over the years 
When fresh tomatoes start to ripen on the vine, give this recipe a try to enjoy the flavor of fresh tomatoes. Nothing beats a fresh tomato, combine fresh tomatoes with Spanish olives, capers, brandy, olive oil, and lemon zest for an unforgettable taste. These make nice and light appetizers that taste so good.
Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Spanish Olive Tapenade
For the tapenade:
1/2 cup Spanish olives with pimento
1 1/2 teaspoons drained capers
1 teaspoon brandy, preferably a Spanish brandy such as Solera Gran Reserva
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
32 small cherry tomatoes
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Make the tapenade: in a food processor, pulse the olives until chopped fine. Add the remaining tapenade ingredients and pulse until olives are minced.
With a sharp knife, slice the stem end (1/4-inch down) and the bottom (1/8-inch up) from each tomato and discard. Using a 1/4 teaspoon, remove the juice and seeds from each tomato half, leaving the outside shell intact. Spoon a generous 1/4 teaspoon of the tapenade into each shell and garnish with the parsley.
Recipe is adapted from Gourmet Magazine.
I don’t have any Spanish brandy (and don’t really feel justified in running out and grabbing a $50 bottle) – is there a decent substitution? Would cognac work w/ this? What kind of flavor does the brandy add?
I would think you could substitute a cognac in here for brandy. I haven’t made this without the brandy, so I can’t tell you what it adds. I think the brandy helps break through the acidity of the olives. You know what your palette likes best, I would even think a dry sherry might go well in here.
sounds very tempting and I am happy that I found a veg dish
am going to try it out soon once I get all the ingredients…
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