An olive obsession inspires this recipe for tapenade

One reason I love this recipe is because of how happy it makes my family. My family's olive obsession inspired this tapenade. My husband and all three of our boys can't get enough of them. In fact, they name olives as their favorite "vegetable."

Tapenade is typically found on the fancy shelves at the grocery stores. After years of purchasing jar after jar, I finally decided the time had come to see if I could make it on my own. The answer was a resounding yes. It takes a mere five minutes to complete this savory spread and less than 24 hours for my family to devour it. Serve it with pita chips, spoon it over chicken or spread it on crusty French bread. I'll never tell if you prefer to eat it by the spoonful.

This recipe is dairy-free, gluten-free, low-calorie, nut-free, sesame-free and vegan.

• Karen Nochimowski is the author of "6-Minute Dinners (& More!)," a newly released cookbook filled with over 100 simple and delicious recipes with six ingredients or less, including nut-free and allergy-friendly options, to help busy families get dinner on the table with ease. You will find testimonials in the book from Gloria Estefan, Alex Borstein, Katie Couric, Howie Mandel, Margaret Cho, Barbara Corcoran and many others. Karen also started and runs Momma Chef's Soup Kitchen and Momma Chef's Little Free Pantries in Chicago, which provides food at no cost to those in need around Chicago. So far, Karen has provided over 20,000 meals and over 15,000 pounds of nonperishable food. Part of the proceeds from the cookbook will go toward feeding those facing food insecurity.

Black Olive and Thyme Tapenade

¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup (180 g) black olives, pitted

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice

2 small garlic cloves

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

2 teaspoons (10 ml) mayonnaise, optional

In a food processor, combine the olive oil, olives, lemon juice, garlic, thyme and mayonnaise (if using). Pulse until the mixture becomes a coarse paste (stopping twice during the blending to scrape down the sides of the bowl).

Taste the tapenade, and add salt to taste, if needed.

Tips: This can be made with pitted green olives in place of the black olives.

If you like a little kick, add a small dash of red pepper flakes before pulsing the mixture.

Serves 4

Karen Nochimowski