Tapenade-Stuffed Parmesan Cups

Olive Odyssey, the grand finale celebration of Sonoma’s Olive Season, takes place this weekend, and we’ve created a recipe to get you in the mood for olives: Tapenade-Stuffed Parmesan Cups. We love these appetizers because they’re unbelievably easy to prepare yet come out looking so fancy!

Using a variety of our Tapenade spreads, we made a few different fillings for these savory cheese cups. One filling was made of Kalamata Tapenade, basil, and lemon juice. In the Second Parmesan Cup we added Artichoke Lemon Tapenade, parsley leaves, and lemon juice. The third we made with Tuscan Olive Tapenade, baby greens, and lemon juice. We couldn’t decide which we liked best so we decide to tell you about all three!

Have fun experimenting with your own fillings at home. Start with any of our tapenades and add fresh lemon juice, herbs, and chopped vegetables. You can’t go wrong with this celebratory olive treat!

Ingredients

• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

• The Olive Press Tapenade,as needed

• Fresh basil, greens, and tomatoes, for serving

• Fresh lemon juice, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil.
2. Spread cheese by the 1/3 cupful into four 4-inch circles on sheet, leaving 1 inch between circles. Place 4 drinking glasses on counter with bottoms facing up.
3. Bake cheese until just melted and golden, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately scrape each circle off sheet with a spatula. Quickly transfer cheese circles to glasses, draping over the flat bottoms. Use hands to mold cheese into draping “cups;” allow to cool about 30 seconds. When hardened, remove cheese cups. Place on serving platter.
4. Prepare the filling: Combine your favorite tapenades with freshly sliced greens, herbs, tomatoes, and lemon juice in a bowl; toss until well mixed. Fill in cheese cups and serve.