In the vast sea of the interweb there are more tapenade recipes than stones on a beach. We’ve been messing around with various  combinations of ingredients off-and-on at home for the past six months trying to find one that will yield the classic, deep umami flavour of the original, which hails from the south of France, but without the anchovies. 
It has the holy trinity of salt-fat-acid in the right proportions with the bonus of additional acidic notes in combining lemon and vinegar.
Our take on this classic involves using dates in lieu of figs that some recipes call for; and the addition of coarsely chopped pistachios, instead of walnuts that recipes using nuts typically use . The dates add a nice counter to the acidity of the lemon and balsamic vinegar; and the earthiness of our pistachios pairs nicely with the dates.
We chose these two olive varietals because of the chewiness of the Cerignolas combined nicely with the punchy fullness of the Castelvetranos. If you want a little more zip you can substitute Kalamata olives for one of the two that are noted. 
The use of the dyed red olives was pretty but would not be a usual choice for us.
30 minutes without a food processor 
10 minutes with a food processor
1 cup of pitted Castelvetrano olives
1/2 cup pitted Cerignola olives 
6 dates 
1/4 cup pistachios
2 generous sprigs of Italian parsley (about 2 packed tablespoons minced)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Optional
1/4 to 1/2 jalapeño pepper
Makes about 1 cup of tapenade.
Directions
While the fastest way to the finished product is to place all of the ingredients into a food processor, – and pulse until you get arrive at a coarse, chunky texture – it does not yield the best result. The nature of a food processor (ours anyways) is such that it does not chop different textures at the same rate; while the olives may be the right size, there were large chunks of pistachios and dates scattered throughout the mixture. And any attempt to get the pistachios and dates down to the right size turned the olives and parsley into hummus. Sigh. So, if you’re rushed, go ahead and use your food processor; you’ll have your tapenade in a few minutes, but minus the briny, delicious mixture, with hints of sweetness and earthiness in every mouthful.
  1. Mince garlic (2-3 medium cloves to make 1 tbsp) and add to olive oil (3 tbsp) in frying pan. Heat over medium for about 2-3 minutes. You want to remove the garlic quickly before it starts to brown. This quick frying takes the sharp edge off of the garlic so it doesn’t overpower the rest of the ingredients. 
  2. Mince the olives (1 1/2 cups whole pitted), pistachios (1/4 cup), dates (6), and parsley (2 generous sprigs) into pieces that are about 2-3 mm. If using a jalapeño pepper, do like wise with it. Add chopped ingredients to a medium mixing bowl.
  3. To the mixing bowl, add oregano (1/2 teaspoon), thyme (1/2 teaspoon), salt (1/2 teaspoon), pepper (1/4 teaspoon), balsamic vinegar (1 tablespoon) and lemon juice (1 tablespoon).
  4. Mix everything together and season as needed with more salt and/or pepper.