Delicious Pickled Olives – A Tapas Favorite

Pickled Olives or Aceitunas Aliñadas – The olive tree (Olea europaea) valued for both its beauty and its fruit, has been a part of Mediterranean civilization since before recorded history.

The olive was cultivated and its oil traded as early as 3000 B.C.E. Olives and olive oil have been used for food, cooking, medicine, salve, soap, and lamp fuel.

Today, most of the world’s olives are still grown in the Mediterranean region. Olives form an important part of Spanish Tapa – an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine.

Spain exports a large amount of table olives, specialising in machine pitted green olives stuffed with strips of pimento, whole almonds, tiny onions or anchovies. 

Olives are a seasonal crop. They are gathered in the autumn in & sold fresh. They vary in size from fruit as large as a quail’s egg to those smaller than a hazelnut.

These olives wear colours from bright green to mauve depending on the degree of ripeness.

In Spain olives for pickling are harvested before they have a chance to ripen to black – the stage at which they are dressed for oil.

The fresh fruits are cracked and soaked in pure water, or, if they are to be left whole in water with lye (a leached solution), until they lose their bitterness.

They are put in an earthenware crock in with loose wooden lid, to pickle submerged in in a strong aromatic brine.

Home cured and pickled olives or aceitunas aliñadas are the ones most frequently are included in the top tapa bars of the Southern Spain.

Flavourings include herbs, garlic and wine vinegar with sometimes a chilli or two and maybe chunks of lemon or bitter orange to add flavour and piquancy.

As the year goes by, the olives become sweeter and more pickled as they ferment, a natural process as it is with wine.

There’s no simpler way to impress your guests than with an elegant tapas spread. These pickled  olives are a great addition along with meats, cheeses, fruit and vegetables.

They are vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

You can use lots of different flavours for pickling olives. Try some and refine some to those that suit your taste.

• Lemon: You can use the lemon chunks.
• Bitter Orange or Tangerine: Use the chunks.
• Garlic: Roast the garlic for a better flavour or you can even slice and add. Do not burn.
• Fresh herbs: Thyme works best in my opinion. You can use rosemary or tarragon as well.

These marinated olives or aceitunas aliñadas are very versatile. Pickled olives are an easy side dish for a Spanish-style meal or a tapas (snack).

• They are great with cocktails or beer.
• They make a perfect addition to an tapas platter with cheese, cold cuts & fresh fruits.
• Add a baguette, sliced cheese and almonds, and you’ve got a simple cheese board dinner for two.
• A few vegetarian appetizers that go well with pickled olives: goat cheese crostini, tomato almond dip, stuffed dates.