Marinated Olives
Step up your olive game with this simple recipe. All you need is some olives, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, fresh or dry herbs, and citrus of your choice. You can add in any other pickled/marinated goods in your refrigerator like artichokes, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, or red peppers. For some heat add red pepper flakes or fresh chiles!
Notes: You can always play around with the flavors, especially with the citrus and the herbs you use. My favorite is orange for the citrus and thyme for the herbs. If you don’t have any fresh herbs laying around you can easily substitute for dry, just make sure it doesn’t burn in the oil.
Extra virgin olive oil can be replaced with olive oil, I would just try to use a higher quality for better flavor.
Marinated olives:
olives, 2 cups of any kind you like
garlic, 3-5 cloves
fresh thyme or rosemary, 2-3 sprigs (for dry herbs use 1 1/2 tsp)
red pepper flakes (optional), 1 tsp
orange/lemon/lime, zest and juice
EVOO, 3/4 c
artichokes, capers, marinated peppers, sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
Method:
Drain the olives. Slice or gently crush the garlic, and zest the citrus. For something like this I prefer longer strips of zest so I’d use a peeler, making sure to only get the outside skin layer. If you get too much of the white rind it’ll start to taste bitter. Feel free to use more than one type of citrus if available.
Next preheat a small pan on low and add the EVOO. Garlic, fresh herbs, and zest can go into the oil, let those simmer and infuse for a few minutes. Make sure to regulate the heat so the garlic doesn’t burn.
After a few minutes the oil should be fragrant, the garlic starting to get color. Add the red pepper flakes (and dry herbs if using), let those simmer for 15-30 seconds so they don’t burn. Remove from heat.
Add in the olives and citrus juice, along with any other additions of your choice. Stir well and let cool before serving.
