Marinated Olives

Ingredients

• 1 10oz. jar of whole (with the pits) Kalamata olives
• 2 jalapeño peppers quartered
• 1 lemon
• light olive oil

Method

1. Pour the olives into a strainer and rinse with water.
2. Place the rinsed olives in a jar that is about twice the volume of the olives. This jar I got at IKEA works really well for marinating, but you could also just use an old pickle jar. Fill up the jar with enough water to cover the olives and place in the refrigerator. After 24 hours dump out the water and fill the jar again with fresh water and place back in the refrigerator for one more day.
3. This two day soak process is really important. It will allow some of the salt to leach out of the olives and give them a really nice, delicate flavor after marinating.
4. On the second day, after you’ve rinsed the olives on last time, quarter the jalapeños and place in the jar with the olives.
5. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the olives, and chilies, then pour over just enough of the light olive oil to barely cover the olives. It’s really important to use light olive oil here. Normal extra virgin oil has too strong of a flavor that will over-power the other ingredients.
6. Put the lid on the jar and roll it around to combine all of the ingredients. Let it set out on the counter for 6-7 days gently turning it on it’s side and rolling once a day to stir. After about a week they should be really flavorful and ready to enjoy. They will last setting out on the counter for another week or so, probably longer if you keep them in the refrigerator.

Notes

These make a great snack on their own, or you can serve them with some pita bread and humus as starter. The marinated jalapeños are also really tasty. They really mellow out while marinating in the lemon and oil. I like them all most as much as the olives.

Share this recipe