Let’s face it: you can’t have an aperitivo without olives. Once you start eating them, you can’t stop. That’s why it’s always good have some at home, so you can serve them with chips to whet the appetite. What’s more, an olive is never just an olive. The other day, in fact, I was at the market and there were many varieties in the stalls, each seasoned in a different and delicious way: with garlic, parsley, spices, etc. So after I bought some for the pantry, I thought about seasoning my own fresh olives at home. This is how I did it. Below you’ll find out what I did for making olives in brine and some advice about what herbs and spices to use to season them.
The brine: removing the bitter edge
If you buy or harvest olives naturally, you can’t eat them straightaway because they’re too bitter. You have to take the acerbic edge off. There are two ways. The first involves immersion in water: the olives should be completely covered and left in the liquid for two weeks, making sure to change the water twice a day. The second involves the use of caustic soda: dip the olives after adding caustic soda to the water. Leave them covered with a cotton cloth for about 10 hours. Once ready, take them out and wash them at least 4 times with running water to remove the soda from the surface.
Brine: the process
After having de-bittered the olives, proceed with the brine, which involves 3 steps. The doses are per 2.2 lbs of olives. Boil 1.5 quarts of water with the addition of 7 tbsp of salt. Let the water cool down, pour it into a container with a stopper and immerse the olives. Close the container but don’t seal it, so that the fermentation gases can escape. Place the jar in the dark for a month. After one month, repeat the process of boiling the water, but this time add 9 tbsp of salt. While the water boils, drain the olives from the first brine. Pour the second brine into the jar, immerse the olives, close without sealing and store in the dark for another month. Finally, the third and last brine is identical in procedure to the first two, but less salty: only 5 tbsp per 1.5 quarts of water. The olives will be ready to eat one month after this brine.
Seasoned olives: schiacciate alla siciliana
Olives are good in their natural state, but they’re even better seasoned. How? Try large fleshy olives crushed with a meat tenderizer (or a stone, according to Sicilian tradition), first passed in brine and then after rinsing them, flavored with vinegar, garlic, chili pepper, oregano, parsley, bay leaves, fennel seeds, and then preserved in oil, ready to use.
Olives seasoned with vegetables
This other variant of seasoning also comes from Sicily. After passing the olives in brine, let them dry on a cloth for a few hours. In the meantime, prepare the vegetables with which to season them: cut the onions into small cubes, clean the celery of its filaments and cut it into slices, and cut the carrots into slices. Take a glass jar, in which to put the olives together with the vegetables, cover with plenty of olive oil and two tablespoons of white vinegar, then season with salt and pepper. Serve as an aperitivo or appetizer.
Roman style olives
For this version, you’ll need black olives, olive oil, salt and orange peel. Pass the black olives under water, then let them dry on a cloth. Chop the orange peels and immerse them in a bowl with some olive oil, to which the dried olives should be added later. Season with salt, leave to rest in the fridge for 12 hours, then serve on the table.
Olives with a kick
If you like things spicy, serve them with chili pepper. Wash the olives, place them in an oven dish and dress them with a drizzle of oil. Add a few cloves of garlic and a little crumbled chili pepper. Stir and put to rest in the fridge. After a few hours, they will be ready to be served. If you prefer a little less kick, add only parsley or oregano.