Mediterranean Marinated Olives

By Nicole Vranjican

on Aug 19, 2020

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Garlic, rosemary, and lemon infused olives are easy to throw together but somehow feel very fancy at the same time.

You can serve warm as a light appetizer with cocktails, or add them to salads, sandwiches, pastas, pizzas, or wraps.

Salty, savory, rich, and intensely flavorful, this recipe transforms a jar of store bought olives into something special.

I hope you enjoy!

SERVE ALONE OR CREATE A MEDITERRANEAN SNACK PLATE WITH THESE RECIPES:

Whipped Vegan Feta

Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Basil Hummus

Italian Zucchini + Chickpea Skillet

Creamy Homemade Hummus

Mediterranean Marinated Olives

By: Nicole Vranjican

Garlic, rosemary, and lemon insfused olives. Served warm or chilled, this easy recipe transforms a jar of store bought olives into something speical.

Prep: 5

Cook: 0

Total: 5

Servings: 1 cup

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Ingredients

1 – 2 cloves of garlic, minced, I start with one and add another if needed
½ tsp minced rosemary, fresh
1 lemon
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
¼ tsp black pepper
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
⅓ cup Kalamata olives, pitted
⅔ cup green olives, pitted

Instructions

Wash and dry the lemon, then use a vegetable peeler to peel off 3 large strips of lemon zest. Set aside and cut the lemon into wedges for easy juicing. You'll porbbaly need two wedges for this. Set aside.
Next, mince the garlic and rosemary and add to a mixing bowl, along with the the red pepper flakes, black pepper, and lemon zest. I like to twist the lemon zest over the bowl to release the natural, flavorful citrus oils into the marinade.
Then add in the olive oil and the olives and toss to combine.
Then squeeze one wedge of lemon on top and add a few extra sprigs of rosemary for added flavor and presentation. I usually take one sprig and break it into 3-4 large peices to scatter around the dish. This provides additional flavor while the olives marinate and acts as garnish for serving. The rosemary sprigs should be disgarded before eating.
Taste and see if you'd like to add salt, more red pepper flakes, more lemon juice or garlic, etc and adjust as you see fit. Remember the flavors will develop and intensify as the olives marinate.
You can serve immiately but it's better to cover and let the olives rest/ marinate for a few hours or a few days in the fridge. It just gets better with time.
To serve warm, simply transfer to a saucepan on medium heat and gently warm through for a few minutes, then serve as a light appetizer with evening cocktails and enjoy!

Notes

I like the combination of pitted green olives and Kalamata olives for this but feel free to shake things up and add whatever variety of olives you like.

I find that pitted olives make this a lot more convenient and enjoyable to eat, but if you only have the un-pitted kind, that works too! I find that sometimes there’s a greater variety of un-pitted olives available at the market than pitted, so if you’re looking to change up the combination of olives, un-pitted may be the way to go.

I recommend salting after tasting, because jarred olives tend to be pretty salty already. I find that they often don’t need additional salt but sometimes a pinch of kosher or flakey sea salt can really make the flavors pop. Do what tastes best to you 🙂

A sprig or two of fresh thyme is also delicious in this recipe.