Gourmet Marinated Olives

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Perfect for entertaining and snacking, this marinated olives recipe is sure to become a regular. They make a beautiful and show-stopping addition to any gathering and they also make elegant and classy gifts!

Homemade Marinated Olives

These homemade marinated olives are a real show-stopper.  Plump, juicy, and packed full of flavor, they’re perfect for entertaining, snacking, including at the dinner table or giving away as a thoughtful, classy gift.

I don’t know when or how it started, but olives were almost always present for any family dinners involving my parents.  Any time my parents would come over for dinner my dad would always brings a jar of olives.  It was almost mechanical:  Dad walks in the door, is buried by the grandkids, reaches in his bag, pulls out the olives and hands them to me, I empty them into a small serving bowl and put them on the dinner table.  And we have olives for dinner regardless of what’s being served.  As far as my dad was concerned, no dinner was complete without them.  

The Perfect Edible Gift

These marinated olives make a visually beautiful, deliciously tasty, and elegant gift you can easily put together for your friends, family, co-workers or neighbors.  Gourmet marinated olives come with a hefty price tag in specialty stores or at the deli, but these you can make for a fraction of the cost and they taste simply divine.

And I can’t think of anything more classy to give than a jar of beautifully vibrant, plump marinated olives, can you?  Olives are gourmet, healthy, they taste amazing, and your friends will think you’re a person of impeccable taste and class.  You’ll enjoy the response you get as you give these delightful olives to the people you care about.  And you’ll love the feeling of personal fulfillment that you’ll experience. Just spoon some olives into canning jars, screw on the lids, and for a little added homemade touch cover the lids with a square of material and tie with some twine.

Marinated Olives Ingredients

Be sure to make them in advance because they need to sit for a week before you use them in order to enjoy optimal flavor.  The longer they sit the better they’ll taste!

I like to use a combination of green, black and kalamata olives for a nice array of color and flavor. And one of my favorite ingredients to include is preserved lemons. Do you have to use them?  No.  Can you use some fresh lemon zest instead?  Of course.  But the flavor of preserved lemons is totally different and the magical depth of mellow citrus flavor that these preserved lemons impart to the olives cannot be overstated.  They’re ridiculously easy to make yourself, it just requires some advance planning because they need to sit for at least 3 weeks before you use them.  But don’t despair, I’ve got you covered. Check out my recipe for Preserved Lemons.

You can really use any herbs and seasonings of your choice.  For this marinated olives recipe I’m using fresh thyme, rosemary, coriander and fennel seeds, bay leaves, garlic, a little dried red chili for some spiciness, and extra virgin olive oil.

Marinated Olives Recipe

Let’s get started!

Drain and rinse the olives.  Make sure to thoroughly rinse the black olives in particular so their juices don’t discolor the other olives. Place the olives in a large bowl.

To bring out the flavor of the coriander and fennel seeds we’re going to toast them.

First give them a quick smash in a ziplock bag just to crack them open.  Heat a small, dry pan over medium-high heat and, once hot, add the coriander and fennel seeds.  Roast until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes, shaking pan frequently towards the end.  Be careful not to scorch them.

Pour in the olive oil and let it heat up for just a minute then remove from the heat.

Add all the remaining ingredients and let the mixture sit for a few minutes until cooled down.

NOTE:  Unless you like super spicy food, be very careful how much dried red chili you add.  A little goes a very long way and the spiciness only increases over time.  Omit entirely if you don’t like heat.

Pour the marinade over the olives and stir to combine.  Cover and let sit in the fridge for at least a week before eating them.  The longer they sit, the better they’ll taste.  

At this point you can also go ahead and divide the olives into gift jars first and then store them in the fridge until ready to give away.

Give them a little shake every now and then.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

And don’t forget to share the love and give some olives away!

Serving Suggestions

Enjoy these marinated olives as an appetizer or a snack with a stack of toothpicks or serve them with your Cheese and Charcuterie Board. They’re also delicious chopped up and added to pasta, pasta salads (see my Macaroni Salad and Broccoli Pasta Salad), grain salads like Greek Einkorn Salad, baked into focaccia (see my Olive Rosemary Focaccia), chopped and sprinkled over Hummus or Baba Ganoush, or served with pita chips, crackers, or fresh crusty bread.

Storage

Marinated olives should be stored in the refrigerator. Remove and let them come to room temperature before serving them.

Store them in an airtight jar in the fridge where they will keep 2-3 weeks.

For more elegant appetizers and hors d’ouevres be sure to try my:

• Pistachio Lemon Cheese Balls
• Gravlax
• Smoked Salmon Spread
• Black Olive Tapenade
• Chicken Liver Pate
• Pork Rillettes 
• Havarti Dill Corn Cakes
• Chanterelle and Goat Cheese Crostini

Gourmet Marinated Olives

By Kimberly Killebrew

Perfect for entertaining and snacking, these delicious marinated olives will serve as a beautiful addition to your next gathering!  And they also make elegant and tasty gifts!

4.89 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

• 1 1/2 pounds assorted olives (kalamata, black, green, Spanish, etc) drained, **rinse the darker colored olives so they don't discolor the other lighter colors
• 3/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 preserved lemon , pulp removed and discarded then the rind rinsed and finely diced
• homemade preserved lemons (click link for recipe)
• 4 cloves garlic , thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds , lightly cracked
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds , lightly cracked
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
• 3 bay leaves , broken into pieces
• 1 dried red chili , membrane and seeds removed, broken into pieces (see NOTE)

Instructions

 

• Rinse the black olives so their juices don’t discolor the other olives. Drain all the other olives in a colander, place them in a large bowl and set aside.
• Heat a small dry pan over medium-high heat and, once hot, add the coriander and fennel seeds. Roast until very fragrant, about 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Be careful not to scorch them. Add the olive oil and heat for a minute. Remove from heat and add all remaining ingredients except for the olives. Let sit until the marinade has cooled down.
• Pour the marinade over the olives and stir to combine. Cover the olives and let them sit in the fridge for a week or so for best flavor before eating them. Give them a shake every couple of days.
• Store the olives in an airtight jar in the fridge where they will keep for 2-3 weeks. Give them an occasional shake. Bring to room temperature before serving.

  Makes 1 1/2 pounds of marinated olives.

Notes

Unless you like super spicy food, be very careful how much dried red chili you add. A little goes a very long way and the spiciness only increases over time. Omit entirely if you don’t like heat.

Course Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine All

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Originally published on The Daring Gourmet Nov 17, 2014

Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!

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