Curing Olives at Home

I certainly meet all kinds of interesting people as an admin in a home canning and preserving group on Facebook. As much as I am there to teach I also learn from people all over the country- different regional foods, recipes and techniques, a lot of history about foods and preserving, and what's the newest in research and testing. David Burnette in a gentleman from Phoenix, who cures olives at home from trees on his property. Arizona's climate is perfect for olive trees, citrus, and other tropical plants that would certainly not survive a cold Iowa winter. The soil where he lives is alkaline and the olive trees' shallow root systems thrive. I'm a little bit envious actually. Everyone knows I am an olive freak and have been reading about curing olives and wishing I had a great source for shipping them to me.

David tells me olives are not palatable fresh off the tree, they must be cured. Unripe, or green, olives get a 3 to 4 week soak in water that is changed daily. This is called water curing and this process leaches out the chemical compound, called oleuropein, that gives fresh olives their bitterness. In order to completely get the compound out, and allow the water to fully penetrate the olive, you need to "crack" them with a mallet or wooden rolling pin, or cut several slits in them. Make sure when they are soaking that they are completely submerged.

You can see how David cut slits in the olives
the help leech the olives and get the brine in.

Once the soaking period is done, you're ready to make the brine that your olives will be stored in. A good basic recipe, enough for up to 10 pounds of olives is:

1 gallon cool water

1 1/2 cups pickling salt

2 cups vinegar

Place the olives in containers, such as jars, and cover with the brine. You can add flavorings to the brine, like strips of citrus peel, sprigs of fresh herbs, even garlic. Store the olives in the fridge and they last about a year.

You can also brine-cure olives in a similar process but you use a salt water brine of varying strengths during the process.

Ripe, or black, olives, can be oil cured, salt cured or brine cured, and also take several months to cure. To salt-cure ripe olives you want to have olives that are fully ripened. Wash and completely dry them. You need to weigh the olives so you can get the right amount of salt. You need 1 1/2 cups pickling salt for every two pounds of olives. You need a wooden crate- like a fruit crate- that you line with cheesecloth or old sheets. Mix the olives and salt together so they are completely coated with salt. Pour the olives and salt into the prepared crate and cover with a layer of salt, and cover with cheesecloth to keep any multi-legged friends out. You want to find a good safe COVERED spot outdoors to place the crate. Set it on top of bricks to get good air circulation all around. After the first week, dump all the olives into a container and mix them up and check for any bad ones. Then back into the crate they go. Repeat every week for a month, then taste an olive- if you like the flavor, you're done. Remove the olives from the salt and pack into glass jars with new salt for storage. You can also cover them with olive oil.

David also uses the leaves of the olive tree. Dried, they can be stored for a very long time and can be used to make teas which are loaded with healthful benefits. Incredibly, the very compound we want to remove from the olives is the compound that's so beneficial when made into a tea. Olive leaf tea is known to have anti-inflammatory and  antioxidant properties, help reduce bad cholesterol and high blood pressure. Studies have also shown a link between these compounds and fighting cancer and diabetes, Alzheimer's, arthritis, heart disease and stroke. 

So if you think you don't like olives...... maybe it's time to take another look at these incredible little gems.

**All photos from David Burnette

Everything Salad

Everything at the Olive Bar anyway. Just kidding. I do love the olive bar. A couple grocery stores in the city have fantastic olive bars and I am totally like a crack addict when I go in there and grab a plastic tub and start shoveling olives into it. I almost never stop at one tub. Sometimes I get in trouble at home........

Hey, I love olives of all kinds. At the olive bar I can make my own mix of any kind of olive that's on the bar that day, plus whatever other delicious tidbits are hanging around- marinated mozzarella pearls, pickled baby pattypan squash, cubes of feta cheese or provolone, even Peppadews. I am absolutely smitten with Peppadews. A friend introduced me to these guys about ten years ago and I have been munching them, stuffing them, chopping and adding to dishes ever since. They are a bright red little round pepper with a sweet hot flavor that's just fantastic. Love em stuffed with goat cheese or Boursin. Yum.

Pasta salads are always popular around here and so are salads with grains. Naturally I happen to love that little pasta that looks like a grain- orzo. I love orzo in salads. Yes, it's just a pasta shape but it fools my brain into thinking it's nutty and toasty like a grain. So ya, I think it's nutty and toasty. It's just a shape and size that I really like and it fools my brain into thinking I'm eating something really good for me (not that pasta isn't.....)

Why "Everything" salad? Short version- I went to the big store in the city, bought lots of fresh produce, couldn't decide which ones to toss in my salad bowl so I decided to use everything. Clever, huh? Freshly cooked orzo, a couple summer squashes, chopped bell peppers, chopped scallions and more go into this colorful- and delicious- summer salad. It's a great side dish with dinner or a lunch entree. Let's make some.

Everything Salad

1 package orzo

1 small zucchini

1 small yellow summer squash

big handful cherry tomatoes

small bunch scallions

1 cup sugar snap peas

1/4 cup chopped Peppadews

1/4 cup chopped mixed olives

1/3 cup chopped bell peppers (I used green, yellow and red)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup vinegar*

palmfull herbs of choice**

salt and pepper

small log goat cheese (or feta if you prefer)

*I used my own infused vinegar to make the dressing. I used chive blossom. Use any vinegar you like.

** I used thyme, parsley, chervil and chives plus a big pinch of Montreal Steak Seasoning

Get a big pot of salty water going for the orzo.

Quarter the zucchini and summer squash lengthwise and cut into slices. Place in large salad bowl. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and throw them in the bowl. Slice the scallions- in the bowl with them also. Cut the sugar snap peas in half, I did on the diagonal for an interesting look, and in the bowl. Add the Peppadews, olives and chopped bell peppers. Toss veggies to mix.

In a jar with a screw top lid combine the oil, vinegar and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Pop the lid on and shake it up. Set aside.

When the orzo is done cooking, drain thoroughly; rinse in cold water and drain again. Add to the bowl with the veggies and toss. Pour dressing over and toss again. Break up the cheese with a fork and sprinkle over. Toss to coat. Chill or serve immediately.

It is deeeeelicious. I made this batch kind of late one evening so I'd have lunch for the next few days at work, and I had to sneak a bowl for a bedtime snack. The orzo is so delicious coated with the dressing and slightly melted mooshy goat cheese. The veggies are crispy- those sugar snap peas- wow, what a sweet bite they add. The olives are salty and briney and delicious and those Peppadews- yum!! You have to try this salad- just use whatever vegetables you have and what you like. Make it yours!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Happy Hour Small Plates- Peppadew Tapenade

Small plates are hot right now. Lots of trendy nightspots are featuring these tidbits that are perfect for sharing with friends and gives you a chance to taste several different things rather than one big entree. They are also perfect for entertaining, especially this easy-to-fix tapenade, that includes one of my favorite things to make for entertaining- Peppadews!

This is super easy to throw together and keep in the fridge for at least a couple weeks, and the food processor makes quick work of it. So, to make my Pepper Olive Tapenade you will need-

• 1/2 cup Peppadews, packed
• 1 cup black olives- I like to use a mix of common black olives and Kalamatas, use whatever you like
• 1 cup green olives- any kind you like, again I use a mix of different green olives
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tb capers
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• small palmfull fresh parsley (leaves only)
• 1 lemon- juiced and zested
• 3-4 tb olive oil

Combine Peppadews, olives, garlic, herbs, capers and lemon zest in food processor. MAKE SURE that the olives are PITTED. Pulse/process until you have a finely chopped mixture. 

If you have one of these choppers they are perfect for a chunkier
tapenade and you won't accidentally over-process into puree

Scoop into bowl and toss with lemon juice (use an amount based on your taste- sprinkle in a teaspoon and taste it- add more if you like) and olive oil. 

This is the consistency I am looking for, finely minced

Chill well and serve with toasted slices of baguette or crackers, toss with pasta or with pita chips.

All the colors of the peppers, olives, herbs and pop of fresh lemon

A few things here- first of all, if you're not familiar with Peppadews, you need to meet these guys. They are a South African sweet/hot pepper that is bright red and so delicious. If you are lucky enough to have a supermarket with an olive bar, they likely will have Peppadews as well. 

If not, you can find them in the pickle aisle in jars. If you absolutely cannot find them you could use pimiento or roasted red pepper as a substitute but it won't have the same sweet/hot kick. When I shopped to make this recipe, incredibly, the store had NONE- not a single Peppadew. I had to go with sweet pickled cherry peppers but the flavor and texture were very similar. I just removed the stem and seeds and they pretty much were the same with very little difference in flavor. The cherry peppers are a little meatier and I think less "crispy" but they certainly were very similar in the sweet with a hint of heat character.

Olive bars- the bane of my existence! Gateway Market in Des Moines has the best gourmet olive bar anywhere, and I am officially grounded from going there- I can spend my entire grocery budget on those darn things. We have a chain of grocery stores in Iowa called HyVee and they also have nice olive bars and most have Peppadews on the bar. If you can, seek out an olive bar- you can mix and match the olives you want and not have to open a bunch of jars and cans to get 1 cup of olives. They are sold by weight so go crazy and mix it up! 

I chose a varied mix from the bar- Kalamata, big pitted and briney green olives, smaller black olives, and oil-cured red olives. I made sure to get all pitted olives so I wouldn't have to mess with pitting them. I also was careful not to choose any stuffed olives- while they are all delicious, they really wouldn't work with this dish.

Some of the olives I chose were marinated and the mix included chunks of Provolone. Of course I scooped a few of those in the tub- that's for snacking while I'm prepping the rest of the dish!

Soooo delicious. Fresh, herby, lemony and briney. Yum.

So what exactly is tapenade anyway? Well, simply put, it's a relish. It's an ancient French food typically made from olives, capers and olive oil, often flavored with fresh herbs, anchovies or lemon. There are about as many versions of tapenade as there are chefs, ranging from a pate-like spread to a chunkier relish style condiment. I'm looking for somewhere in between- I want to still see bits of the components and be able to pick out the flavors while still enjoying the tapenade as a whole. I also plan on serving it on toasted slices of baguette, similar to bruschetta. Once you've made it I'm sure your imagination will take you in different directions. Stop back and tell us what you're cooking with tapenade!

Get Him to (cook) The Greek !!!

As a typical Iowa summer goes, another day, another pile of fresh vegetables is sitting on the kitchen counter. What to do....what to do...... not quite enough to can, the dehydrator is full (10 packages of mushrooms for $10 !!!! Are you kidding me ??? The Chef and I will be in shroomie bliss all winter at this price....)......so we decided on a shortish road trip, hit the Hy Vee for the deal on mushrooms and a few other items we needed around the house and the usual "what should we have for dinner" convo ensued. Obviously, we are going to have SOMETHING veggie- how can we not ? But before we get to dinner, you are probably wondering what in the world this has to do with Greek ? So without further delay.... a little (like, mini) interview with the infamous Chef !

You have over 20 years of experience in a professional kichen, but how did you get your start ? One of my very first culinary experiences was a little Greek restaurant called Papou's.

What were some of your favorite dishes made there ? Flaming saganaki, souvlaki, tyropita, spanakopita, pastitsio and moussaka. Of course, gyros and some of the most mouth watering filet steaks ever. Steak and shrimp.....

What was the first dish you learned?  The first day, the owner taught me to make "horiatiki salata" or Greek salad.

And that's where the interview stops and dinner begins.......

Joe's Greek Salad (makes enough for 2 big side salads)

1/2 fresh cucumber, cut in matchsticks
1 cup tomatoes (mix of cherries and cut up tomatoes)
small handful olives (use what you like, kalamata are traditional but Spanish are ok)
1 cup large diced green bell pepper
small handful pickled hot peppers such as banana or jalapeno
small handful chopped red onion
small handful crumbled feta cheese (approx 4 oz)

Combine all in medium bowl.

Dress with olive oil, red wine vinegar and oregano to taste.

Let me tell ya, this German/Norwegian girl has never had Greek food of any kind other than a couple bites of someone else's gyro at the fair, and this salad was DELICIOUS ! Fresh and juicy, with a real "bitey" vinegar dressing, it was absolutely wonderful. And served alongside- what else, but a nice chunk of grilled kielbasa in a bakery egg bun with mustard, onions and more of those pickled peppers. Perfect summer dinner !!