Black Olive Paste

Serving Ideas : Use on bread, roasts (lamb, pork), polenta, pasta Adapted from Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet Usually served as a spread for this focaccia: http://www.food.com/recipe/rustic-sourdough-focaccia-with-caramelized-onions-67753

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1⁄3 cup  olive, kalamata, pitted
• 2⁄3 cup  olive, dry cured, pitted
• 3⁄4 cup olive oil
• 3 -5  garlic cloves, peeled
• 1  tablespoon lemon juice
• 1  tablespoon  chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1⁄2 cup yellow onion, chopped
• 1  pinch sugar

Directions

1. To pit the olives, you can use a cherry/olive pitter, but I've found that the olives frequently slip through the holes instead of just the pits.
2. Another way to pit olives is to put them inside a folded kitchen towel and then bang on them with a mallet, cutting board, small frying pan, or whatever suits your fancy.
3. Sure the olives get bruised, but what do you think is going to happen in the food processor?.
4. Mixing raw garlic and olive oil provides an ideal breeding ground for the anaerobic bacteria which cause botulism.
5. If I'm going to keep the paste around for a number of days, which I usually do, I'll mince the garlic, add it to the oil and then heat both in the microwave.
6. I try not to cook the garlic too much in this manner- you just need to heat the oil and garlic up to 140 or 150 degrees for a while.
7. Mix all of the ingredients in food processor.