Marinating Olives
Upgrade store bought olives with this olive marinade
Equipment
- large bowl
- glass jar with lid to store the olives in the fridge
Ingredients
- 2 cups olives either one variety or an assortment of different colors and sizes
- 1/2 cup olive oil extra virgin
- 1 peel lemon try to use organic lemon as most sold contain pesticides on the peel. You can also add wedges, to taste.
- 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 1 leaf bay Take a large bay leaf, broken up, or 2 small whole bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, rosemary, oregano, or za'atar Crushed
- 1 coriander seeds
- 2 red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes (optional) or to taste
Instructions
- If using black olives, rinse them separately to prevent discoloring the rest of the olives.
- Drain all olives; place them in a large bowl.
- Smash the coriander seeds in a mortar once or twice. Don't pulverize them. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, wrap the seeds in a kitchen towel and bang them with the bottom of an empty bottle or jar a few times.
- Toast the coriander seeds in a dry pan for 2 minutes, or until the fragrance rises. Remove from the heat.
- Combine the oil, coriander seeds and the rest of the seasonings, except for the vinegar, in the pan. Heat this seasoned oil over low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool.
- Pour the marinade over the olives. Drizzle the vinegar in. Mix gently.
- Cover the olives and allow them to marinate at least a couple of hours at room temperature, turning them over twice. But they'll taste better after a week in the refrigerator, and will keep for up to a month there, the flavors improving as they mature. Take the olives out of the fridge an hour before serving, to let the solidified olive oil thaw.