*  Exported from  MasterCook  *

                        MORROCCAN SPICED OLIVES

Recipe By     :
Serving Size  : 6    Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Appetizers

 Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  1       c            Olives purchased from deli
                       -or Middle Eastern grocery
                       -(green

 Yield: 1 cup

 Olives are often served as part of the Middle Eastern
 appetizer assortment called mezze or mazza that is
 brought to your table with your wine, ouzo, or arak.
 Anything can turn up as part of a mezze selection:
 octopus dressed in olive oil and lemon, chunks of feta
 cheese or salami on small pieces of bread, or a plate
 of creamy, tart hummus.  Olives, brined, salted, or
 marinated, are almost always on one of the little
 plates.

 Middle Eastern marketplaces feature huge vats and
 crocks of differently spiced olives in myriad array.
 Some are fleshy, some juicy, others bitter and dense,
 and each is in a subtly different mainade.  The
 marinade in this recipe is good for almost any type of
 olive;  it is especially delicious with green brined
 olives or fleshy Greek-style ones (it even improves
 California-style ripe Olives).

 brine-cured, Kalamata, Greek-style, or shriveled black
 dry-cured) 1/4 cup olive oil 4 cloves garlic, chopped
 1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, lightly crushed 1 1/2 tsp
 Aji Harissa, Berbere, or commercial chile-garlic paste
 1 tbsp wine vinegar

 1.  Drain olives of any brine.

 2.  Slowly heat olive oil over low heat. Remove from
 heat and add garlic, rosemary, chile-garlic paste, and
 vinegar.

 3.  Pour marinade over olives and let stand at least 2
 hours (the flavor gets hotter the longer it stands).

 ADVANCE PREPRATION:  Lasts almost forever, covered and
 refrigerated

 VARIATION:  A Mediterranean-inspired hors d'oeuvre.

 4 ounces Montrachet or Leazay goat cheese 1 to 2
 cloves garlic, chopped 1 tsp finely chopped cilantro
 (optional) 1 tsp medium salsa (or to taste) 1/2 tsp
 thyme 1 tsp olive oil Approximately 1/2 a French
 baguette, cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices Morroccan
 Spiced Olives

 1.  Mash goat cheese with a fork.  Add garlic,
 cilantro, salsa, thyme, and olive oil.

 2.  Spread goat cheese mixture on bread slices; top
 each with half a pitted marinated olive.

 RECOMMENDED WINE:  Enjoy with a glass of a
 medium-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with noticeable
 character, one from California, Chile, or Spain.



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