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.
