Olive Bar Medley with Tofu Feta – a delectable appetizer

Colorful and briny, small servings of this olive-rich appetizer (featuring a tofu feta recipe) go a long way. If you’d like to pair this up with one other appetizer, serve this olive bar medley with tofu feta alongside your favorite dip or spread, plus fresh sliced baguette or gluten-free crackers.

Choose two or three different varieties of pitted olives from your supermarket’s olive bar. Add one extra item, as listed in the last ingredient suggestions, in this list, such as pickled peppers or garlic, to spice up the mix. Pulling it all together is the easy-to-make tofu feta recipe.

Exploring the olive bar

The olive bar is an incredibly enticing place for those of us who love this brined fruit. There are other marinated delicacies alongside them including pickles of all sorts, mushrooms, roasted peppers, hot peppers, crunchy vegetable mixes, and more.

Most well-stocked supermarkets have an olive bar in the produce section, so you need not go far to find one.

Olives aren’t as fatty and caloric as they look and taste. A generous serving of 10 olives has about 60 calories. Fat content depends on whether they’re packed in brine or oil, but in and of themselves, they don’t have trans fats or cholesterol and are low in carbs. You can get basic nutrition facts for olives here.

Very few people have allergies to olives, and they’re rich in good-for-you monounsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants.

Among the olives typically seen at the olive bar are Castelvetrano, Kalamata, Manzanilla, Picholine, Niçoise, and Greek.

The nice thing about olive bar shopping is that you can mix several varieties into a single container because it’s all the same price per pound. That lets you explore, taste, and discover your favorites.

Recipe adapted from Vegan Holiday Kitchen by Nava Atlas. Photos of the recipe by Susan Voisin, FatFreeVegan.com.

Explore more …

• Easy Cold & Hot Vegan Appetizers
• Easy Tofu Recipes
• Delicious and Savory Olive Recipes
• Green Olive and Spinach Tapenade

Continue to Content

Yield: 12

Olive Bar Medley with Tofu Feta

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Colorful and briny, small servings of this appetizer go a long way. Choose two or three different varieties of pitted olives from your supermarket’s olive bar.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

Tofu feta

• 8 ounces super-firm or extra-firm tofu
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano

The rest

• 2 cups mixed cured pitted olives
• 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1 small red bell pepper, cut into narrow strips, or a roasted pepper from the olive bar
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup pepperoncini, cherry peppers, other small pickled peppers, pickled garlic, or a combination

Instructions

1. Super-firm tofu doesn't need to be blotted, just drained. If using extra-firm tofu into 4 slabs crosswise, then blot between layers of paper towel or clean tea towels until you get out as much moisture as you can. Whichever type of tofu you’re using, cut into small dice. 
2. Place the tofu dice in a shallow container, in a single layer if possible. Toss with the lemon juice and oil; sprinkle with the salt and oregano. Let stand for 30 minutes.
3. Transfer the tofu feta to a serving container along with the remaining ingredients and toss gently. This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until needed, or served at once. Spoon small portions onto small plates and serve with cocktail forks or toothpicks.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 73Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 320mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 3g

Nutrition data is always an estimate depending on program used to calculate and exact products used.

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