This Vegan Olive Pesto Flatbread with Olives from Spain, Roasted Grapes and Figs is a perfect plant-based healthy holiday appetizer to feed a crowd!
Tis the season for entertaining, and lucky me, I legit have a different holiday party to attend (and cook for) every other night of the month. I’m not complaining, parties + cooking are my two favourite things in life, but I can imagine a lot of you are in the same busy-bee boat loving the former much more than the latter. That’s where this Vegan Olive Pesto Flatbread with Olives from Spain, Roasted Grapes and Figs comes into play. It’s easy enough to pull off while juggling your wardrobe options, hostess gifts and running ever other imaginable errand this December, but it’s so pretty and elegant all of your friends will think it took all day.
How to Make Vegan Olive Pesto Flatbread with Olives from Spain, Roasted Grapes and Figs
So as you probably know, pesto is traditionally made of herbs, nuts, cheese, oil, and garlic. My version has just a handful of those ingredients, and is also completely vegan, but it gets a royal treatment thanks to the addition of Olives from Spain. So you can probably consider this Vegan Olive Pesto Flatbread the love child of pesto and olive tapenade. Trust me, it’s a wicked combination.
If you haven’t been to Spain, let me assure you that they make the BEST olives and in fact, almost half of the olives we eat in Canada come from Spain. Available in many varieties, including the popular Gordal, Hojiblanca, and Manzanilla, they’re incredibly versatile in recipes or just for snacking on their own. They’re also really good for you. Olives pack a wicked dose of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, along with fibre, calcium, vitamin E, magnesium and iron. Honestly, I wouldn’t throw a party without them because they’re naturally gluten free, dairy free and vegan so everyone can enjoy.
In this recipe for Vegan Olive Pesto Flatbread, I decided to use the beautiful Gordal olives from Spain (translated to mean “the fat one”) to make my vegan olive pesto for my flatbread. I then topped it off with some slivered Dark Hojiblanca olives from Spain along with some caramelized onions, roasted grapes, figs and pistachios. The result is a Vegan Olive Pesto Flatbread appetizer that is almost too good to eat. Almost being the real key word.
Aside from whipping up this Vegan Olive Pesto Flatbread for guests, when I’m in a real pinch, I sometimes just throw a selection of olives from Spain into a saucepot with some garlic, orange and rosemary scented olive oil and serve them warm alongside cheese. They’re simple, elegant and crazy addictive. Honestly, I bet you can’t eat just one.
Now, friends, I would love to know what some of your easy go-to holiday appetizer recipes are!
Have you tried making this Vegan Olive Pesto Flatbread with Olives from Spain, Roasted Grapes and Figs?
What do you think of the love child of my vegan pesto and olive tapenade?
Leave me a comment below with your ideas!
Vegan Olive Pesto Flatbread with Olives from Spain, Roasted Grapes and Figs
Ingredients
- Gordal olives from Spain Pesto
- 1/2 cup pistachios shelled
- 1 cup pitted Gordal olives from Spain
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 cup arugula
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Pepper to taste
- Flatbread
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil divided
- ½ onion thinly sliced
- 1 ½ cups red grapes
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 6 small whole grain naan breads
- 4 figs thinly sliced
- ¼ cup pitted Dark Hojiblanca olives from Spain thinly sliced
- ¼ cup crushed pistachios
Instructions
- In a food processor, puree the pistachios until they reach a powder like consistency, then add in the Gordal olives from Spain, garlic, arugula and oil. Season with pepper, to taste. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 450 F.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add in the onions and saute until dark and caramelized, about 50 minutes. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, place the grapes and rosemary on a baking sheet and drizzle with a tablespoon of oil.
- Place the naans on baking sheets and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Roast the grapes for 20-25 minutes or until caramelized, and the flatbread for 5-10 minutes just until toasted around the edges.
- When ready to serve, smear the olive pesto all along the toasted naans. Top with the roasted grapes, figs, Dark Hojiblanca olives from Spain, caramelized onions and pistachios. Enjoy!
Updated on October 14th, 2020
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
