Roasted Castelvetrano Olives with Herbs
Lots of otherwise-adventurous eaters say they don’t like olives. Up until about three years ago, I wasn’t keen on olives, either. But then I went to Spain for the first time and had what I’m going to call “real” olives for the first time: lush-tasting, firm-textured, and carefully cured olives that were served with a respect bordering on reverence. Light-years removed from the horrible mushy salt bombs that come out of a can. (Real olives have pits, not pimentos!)
The Spanish olives I enjoyed came in a variety of sizes, colors, and flavors — in other words, they reminded me of good-quality extra-virgin olive oils. Those also taste different and have a slightly different hue depending on the kind of olives that were pressed to make the oil. My feelings about olives finally made sense! For years I’d been wondering how I could so enjoy the flavor of extra-virgin olive oil and not the flavor of olives themselves. Turned out I just hadn’t tried the right kind of olive.
Now that I like olives, I decided to treat them like my other favorite veggies and roast them. (Olives are technically a fruit, but because they’re cured with salt, I think of them as savory veggies.) While I was at it, I tossed in some herbs for even more flavor. Roasted olives are a beyond-simple-but-beyond-tasty appetizer if you start out with top-notch olives. Use any variety you like — just be sure to find them free-floating in brine at an olive bar instead of in a can or jar. I prefer olives with pits, but you could opt for pitted olives if you’re going to be serving them to guests who aren’t fond of pit-spitting.
Roasted Olives with Herbs
Preheat oven to 325F. Place whichever olives you like best in a small oven-proof ceramic or glass dish. (My top three favorite olive varieties in order are Castelvetrano, green Niçoise, and Arbequina*, but by all means go with your favorites.) Drizzle with a small splash of extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle on some dried Italian herbs, and roll the olives around in the dish to coat them. Roast for 20 minutes or until they’re starting to shrivel and shrink. Serve either piping (but not mouth-burning) hot or at room temperature. Leftover olives can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
Enjoy!
* While Spaniards are passionate about their olives — they supply 10% of the entire world’s demand — you’ll find great olives throughout the Mediterranean. Castelvetranos come from Italy; Niçoise olives are French in origin; large black Kalamatas are grown in Greece. Petite Arbequinas are native to Spain. Of course, many varieties of olives are now grown in California, too!
Print This Post
Tags: appetizers, Arbequina, Castelvetrano, Italian herbs, Niçoise, olives, roasted olives
