Marinated Olives
The easiest way to turn plain brined olives into a meze overnight: olive oil, lemon zest, garlic and oregano.
- Time
- 15 minutes
- Serves
- 6
- Level
- Easy
- Cuisine
- Mediterranean
Marinating and brining are not the same thing, and this recipe does the first, not the second. Brining is the months-long process that removes the bitterness from a raw olive — with salt and water, it makes the fruit edible in the first place. Marinating is a short process that adds aroma to olives that are already edible; it takes between twelve hours and a few days.
So we are not producing olives here, we are personalising ready ones. The olive oil does the work: it takes the fat-soluble aromatic compounds out of the spices and carries them onto the surface of the olives. That is why the marinade has to be oil, not water.
Directions
- Drain the olives, rinse once in cold water and dry them well — wet olives will not take up the oil.
- Toast the coriander seeds in a dry pan for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- In a wide bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano and chilli flakes.
- Add the garlic, rosemary and coriander.
- Fold in the olives until well coated, then transfer to a jar.
- Seal and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, ideally two days.
- Take them out half an hour before serving — cold olive oil sets and closes down the aroma.
Tips & storage
Drying is essential. Wet olives repel oil, so nothing sticks to them; rinsing and drying thoroughly is the condition for the marinade working at all.
Don't skip toasting the coriander. Thirty seconds in a dry pan releases the seed's volatile oils. Untoasted coriander is visible but contributes no flavour.
Keep the garlic whole and bruised. Chopped garlic turns harsh within a few days and overtakes the olives. A whole clove crushed with the flat of a knife gives its aroma slowly.
Lemon zest without the pith. Take only the yellow layer when zesting; the white beneath is bitter, and that bitterness spreads through the marinade over days.
Twelve hours minimum, two days ideal. Don't leave it more than a week — the rosemary and garlic take over.
Serving temperature matters. Straight from the fridge the oil has set and the aroma is closed. Half an hour out shows the difference immediately.
Storage. Two weeks in the fridge, as long as the olives stay submerged in the oil.
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