Source: Oded Scwartz

I am an olive addict, I eat them for breakfast, broken and spread over curd cheese; I use them in stuffing, in bread, added to stews, pureed for crusting fish or pounded with anchovies and capers to make Tapenad - one of the genius creations of the Mediterranean kitchen. But my most favorite way is nibbling them with drinks. Curing olives is easy and fun, but if you do not want to bother, get one of the excellent quality cured, semi dried olives which are sold in many specialty stores and ethnic markets, and finish them yourself at home. Before finishing the olives must be soaked, to get rid of excess salt and to replace some of the lost moisture. I rinse the olives in warm water to which I add a small amount of mild detergent, to get rid of the film of oil that covers them. The olives are then rinsed in a few changes of cold water. I then cover them with boiling water and leave them to soak for about 12 hours. If they are still too salty, drain, cover with fresh water and allow additional soaking. I taste the olives every now ant then to see if they are salty to my liking. The olives are then drained and ready for finishing. There are many ways to finish (or dress) olives. I do them with lemon juice, thinly sliced lemons, crushed, roasted coriander seeds, garlic and olive oil. I steep them in lemon juice, harissa and garlic or with roasted fennel seeds, sliced oranges, garlic and fresh thyme or simply covered with olive oil, chopped fresh herbs lemon juice and chilli. The possibilities are endless. One thing to remember, although olives last well, the added fresh ingredients don't, they need to be refrigerated. To prevent molding stored olives should be covered with a film of olive oil. They will keep, refrigerated for up to a month. The olives are ready for immediate consumption but improve within a day or so of marinating. One last word about the flavor of olives - olives are an acquired taste and one of the rare examples where a pleasant bitterness can be added to food - the other examples are chocolate, bitter salads and bitters such as Angastura. Bitterness is a difficult flavor to understand, inherently we reject it - many poisonous materials have bitter flavor. Overcoming those primeval barriers, pleasant bitterness presents a flavor that enhances appetite, clears the palate and adds contrast and interest. For generations cooks tried to get rid of the inherent bitterness of olives and used strange and sometimes dangerous substances to achieve it. Olives were steeped in lime solution, ash and various acids. Sadly those techniques are still widely used today to produce the tasteless, insipid olives that are so prevalent on supermarket shelves. Curing Black Olives Ingredients: 1 kg fresh black olives washed 1 kg preserving or kosher salt To Finish 1 heaped Tbsp coarse salt 3 Tbsp olive oil

Preparation:
Lay the washed olives in a non-corrosive dish. Throw about 200 gr. of coarse salt over them and mix well. Next day drain away all the accumulated liquid; add anther 200g of salt and leave to marinate. Repeat this procedure for 5 days. On the sixth day rinse the olives well in few changes of water. Put them into a clean pickling jar. Add 1 Tbsp salt and the oil, shake well and seal. The olives are ready after 1 week.

Or, after the 5th day, spread the olives on trays and dry in the sun until the olives are wrinkled. The outside should by dry but the flesh should be soft enough to dent when pressed.

Broken Green Olives in Brine

Ingredients:
1 kg. green olives
Brine made out of 100 gr. of salt to each litre of water
8 cloves of garlic, unpeeled and crushed
1 lemon, thinly sliced
2-4 chillies, sliced into halves lengthwise
1-2 small sprigs of rue (paigam) or olive leaves (optional)

Preparation:
To break the olives tap gently with a clean stone or a hammer. Place the olives in a large bowl and cover with water. Change the water daily for 7 days.

On the eighth day drain well and pack into a sterile jar or jars distributing the garlic, lemon, chilli, rue or olive leaves, if used, between layers of olives. Top with the salt solution, making sure that it almost reaches the rim. Add a thin film of oil and seal tightly. Keep in a dark cool place. The olives are ready in about a month; they get milder with longer marinating.

Tapenad
This delicious sauce encapsulates the flavour of the Mediterranean. Its origin is in the south of France and its name comes from the old Provencal word for capers - tapeno. Traditionally the sauce is made with a pestle and mortar, which does not take much time but involves experience and much elbow grease. Making it in the food processor will take about 2 minutes but the texture is much too fine. Tapenad is a versatile sauce. It is served as a dip with raw vegetables, as a spread on crusty bread or can be used together with plenty of fresh herbs as a quick sauce for pasta.

Ingredients:
2 heaped Tbsps capers, drained
50 gr. of anchovy, drained
250 gr. good black olives, soaked and stoned
4 Tbsps virgin olive oil
1 Tbsps lemon juice
1 Tbsp finely chopped thyme (optional)

Preparation:
Place the capers and anchovy into a heavy mortar and pound into a paste. Now add the olives a few at the time and pound until completely crushed. Add the olive oil, a little at a time like making mayonnaise and pound until all the oil is used and the mixture is homogenous. Add the lemon juice and thyme and mix well.

Or, put the first three ingredients into the processor and process for a few seconds. While the machine is running, add the oil in a thin steady stream, add the lemon juice and thyme and mix well. Cover and refrigerate

Section: Miscellaneous