The most DELICIOUS Marinated Olives

close up shot of large white dish with marinated olives and two slices of toasted ciabatta

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5 from 7 votes

Olives are great, but olives wrapped in a tasty marinade are even better!!

Prep Time10

Marinating Time1

Total Time1 10

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean

Servings: big portions

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £1.50 / $2

Equipment

Large Shallow Dish
Whisk (or can just use a fork)
Vegetable Peeler (for zest)
Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Baking Dish & Baking/Parchment Paper (if serving with baked feta)

Ingredients

Olives

1/3 cup / 80ml good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus a drizzle extra if you need to loosen up the marinade a little
1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1 tsp Dried Chilli Flakes (can reduce if not good with spice)
1/4 cup / 20g very finely diced Fresh Parsley
14oz / 400g pitted Olives (see notes)
1 small Orange, peeled into strips with a vegetable peeler
4 fat cloves of Garlic, peeled & thinly sliced (around 5 or so slivers per clove)

Optional

1x 200g/9oz block of Feta
sliced Ciabatta, or other bread/baguette
good drizzle of Honey

Instructions

In a large shallow dish whisk together extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, parsley, oregano and chilli flakes. Toss in olives, orange peel and garlic.
Cover and marinate at room temp for at least an hour, tossing every now and then if you can. If you're marinating longer than an hour, marinate in the fridge. Bring to room temp before serving so the oil loosens up.
Optional: Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Pat the feta dry then place on baking paper on top of a baking dish or tray. Drizzle over a tbsp of the marinade then bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden and very soft to touch. Drizzle honey over the top then place under the grill/broiler for a few mins until hot & bubbly. Brush over excess honey from around the feta then serve with the olives circled around it. Toast the ciabatta in a scorching hot pan or until the grill/broiler.

Video

Notes

a) Olives - Go for whatever kind of olives you fancy. You can use all the same, or a mix as I've done here (Kalamata, black & green). I tend to use pitted olives, just for the marinade can work its way in and around the olive. Also just make sure you get fresh or brined olives, not ones that are already marinated. If using brined olives just drain away the brine first.

b) Orange Peel - A lot of recipes use lemon, but I personally love the warm tones of the orange. If you prefer lemon, you can use that, or even a mix of both. Either way I recommend slicing the peel, instead of zesting. Adding grated zest is a little too overpowering in my opinion, whereas the peel just infuses a nice subtle undertone of flavour. I also like to use a knife to scrape the pulp (the white bit) from the zest, it can sometimes taste bitter.

c) Spice - 1 tsp chilli flakes might seem like a lot, but the spice mellows out with the other ingredients, so they don't end up crazy spicy. Start off with less and work up if you're wary though.

d) Storage - The longer you marinate the better. An hour is bare minimum. I find these usually stay good for up to 2 weeks tightly covered in the fridge. Always bring back to room temp before serving, just so the oil loosens up again.

e) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 6.

Nutrition