Gourmet Green Olives

Submitted by Zurie

"Turn ready-made green olives into a gourmet addition to a snack plate, or add to a salad! I prefer using the pitted (un-pitted!) green olives. In small bottles this also makes a nice hostess gift. Drain before serving. This will not spoil at room temperature due to the acid content. This marinade somehow "softens" the slightly harsh taste of olives, which some people dislike. And do not discard the marinade after you've used the olives: it is ideal to use over roast chicken or to spoon into a stew. You will probably need no more than 1 cup olive oil or even less."

 

• Ready In: 15mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Yields: 1 jar

ingredients

• 9 -10 ounces green olives in brine, pref. pitted, and weighed after draining. (This is about 280 - 300 g)
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds, crushed in mortar and pestle
• 1⁄2 lemon, cut onto thin slices and halved again (remove the pips)
• 1 orange, zest of, grated (not finely grated and avoid white pith)
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stems
• 1 hot pepper, seeded and then finely chopped (optional)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh
• 5 tablespoons orange juice, fresh
• 1 - 1 1⁄2 cup olive oil

directions

1. Put the drained olives in a glass or ceramic bowl.
2. Add all the flavourings from the crushed coriander seeds down to the fresh orange juice, and toss well. (Coriander seeds are widely used in SA cooking. They'll be even more aromatic if slightly scorched in a small pan, shaken over high heat).
3. Transfer the olives in marinade to a large, very clean, or sterilised jar.
4. Pour in olive oil to cover.
5. Shake the jar, screw on top, and allow to marinate for 1 - 2 days at least, in fridge, but will be fine at cool room temperature. It's better to marinate for longer!

Reviews

[Nasseh]

I used preserve lemons in the place of regular lemons in this recipe. DH said that the garlic was the main flavor & he couldn't really taste the orange & other spices. Next time I will cut the amount of garlic in half. Made for Photo Tag