Herb, Olive and Caper Drizzle

Capers used to scare me because I thought they resembled alien pods, but now I appreciate these little pickled flower buds that burst with vinegar.  You still won’t catch me eating them out of the jar, but I think they add fabulous flavor to ham and gruyere sandwiches, sauces, and especially this Herb, Olive and Caper Drizzle.  This drizzle is great on crusty bread, fish, chicken, beef, roasted vegetables, eggs, you name it.

Makes about 1 cup

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 small shallot
2-3 cloves garlic
1 loose cup parsley or basil
1 teaspoon capers
3 kalmata olives, pitted (see Olive Pitting Made Easy)
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
7 turns freshly cracked black pepper
Juice of 1 lime

If you have a food processor, add all ingredients into it and blend for about 10 seconds.  If you don’t have a food processor, mince all the solid ingredients as much as possible and blend together with the liquid ingredients.  You can also use a mortar and pestle to mash the solid ingredients.  Serve as a dip or a drizzle and save any remaining drizzle in the refrigerator for a couple of days.  To store for a longer amount of time, pour drizzle into ice cube trays and freeze; thaw as needed.