2008.11.20
Roast this!
Okay, since we didn't get overly excited about chestnuts, here's something else we can roast: olives!
Who knew you could roast olives? I certainly had never thought of it. But the folks at Lindsay olives (such a great brand name -- if only they'd spelled it correctly) today sent over this fascinating recipe (after the jump) of roasted olives with tomatoes and garlic. Sounds like the makings of a great tapenade, but they say to leave the olives whole and serve the mixture with crusty bread or crackers.
I'm trying to picture how one would eat this appetizer gracefully at a party. Of course, if you just make it for the fam to enjoy, who cares about eating gracefully?
Roasted Olives
Serves 6-8
Serve this starter with toasted baguette slices, crackers, pita bread or just by themselves with toothpicks to make it easy to pick them up and enjoy.
1 pint (2 cups) grape or cherry tomatoes
1 cup black ripe olives
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1 cup garlic-stuffed olives
1 Tbsp. Herbes de Provence seasoning blend or a mix of rosemary and thyme
8 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Heat oven to 425ºF.
Lay out all the ingredients on a sheet pan and toss to combine well. Roast the olive mixture on the pan in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until the tomatoes have shriveled and browned lightly. Cool on the sheet pan and transfer all ingredients to a shallow serving bowl. Serve at room temperature with toasted baguette slices or crackers.
Serving tip: If you can find them, fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme or basil look great as a garnish. If you have trouble finding the specified olives, feel free to use any combination that appeals to you.
For more easy entertaining recipes, please visit www.lindsayolives.com.
Oh my! That sounds just delightful! I love olives!
Comment by Rebecca — November 20, 2008 @ 3:43 pm
Interesting! Not something that I would try to make, but I'd sure sample it if I saw it at a party! I've seen "fried olives" in the appetizer section of a couple menus where I've eaten out, but haven't tried them. I expect that would be good, too.
Comment by Dennis — November 20, 2008 @ 5:12 pm
This sounds perfect. Yummmmm...
And did anyone see the sperical olives made by Fabio last night on Top Chef? I'd never seen anything like it.
Comment by Amy Hanek — November 20, 2008 @ 5:29 pm
Yumm! I love olives, especially Kalamata's. As for eating them gracefully, they'll shrink up when roasted, and if you use the canned whole ripe black olives, they're already pitted, and they said use pitted Kalamata's, so it should be okay. I prefer buying the ones with the pits in them though. The pitted ones have a tendency to be mushy. I'll buy the ones with the pits and use my handy dandy cherry pitter to pit them.
Comment by Debbie — November 20, 2008 @ 5:30 pm
I just read where it says you can serve them with toothpicks, so I guess they won't shrivel up too much. Like you said, if you're eating with family, who cares. They'd better all like garlic too!
Comment by Debbie — November 21, 2008 @ 8:22 am
There used to be fried olives on the appetizer menu at Brambleton Deli, but they took them off a while back. I didn't get a chance to try them, but my friend loved them.
Any of you who love olives need to check out the selections at the Mediterranean stores around town. Try the Mediterranean Gourmet in Grandin, Halal Foods on Williamson Road or one of the all-purpose ethnic stores like Global Foods in Blacksburg. I think the prices are better, but I haven't done a comparison. I do know that you can buy in bulk!
Comment by lindseynair — November 21, 2008 @ 11:05 am
All this talk about olives is making me crave an appletini.....or any kind of -tini, for that matter.
Comment by Kathy — November 21, 2008 @ 11:48 am
Ma, I seriously hope you are not putting olives in your appletini! EEEWWW
But yes, I second the -tini. I could go for a dirty martini. Or a gin martini.
Comment by Lori — November 21, 2008 @ 1:31 pm
Here's another good way to eat olives: olive salad! It's what they put on the New Orleans favorite Mufaletta (sp?) sandwich. I LOVE those sandwiches! McAlister's Deli at Towers has one, and I actually like it better than at the other two places (that I know of) in the valley that you can get one. (Brambleton Deli, Montano's) Of course, you can't get the "real thing" except in New Orleans! Not sure if you can buy the olive salad around here or not, maybe in the stores Lindsey was talking about.
Comment by Dennis — November 21, 2008 @ 3:37 pm
An olive spread is very easy to make.
Here's a recipe from Emeril off the Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/kicked-up-calamari-with-creole-olive-salad-recipe/index.html
"Bam!"
Comment by Amy Hanek — November 21, 2008 @ 8:45 pm
I love olive salad and Mufeletta's!
Comment by Debbie — November 24, 2008 @ 11:23 am