Pickled Olives - A Marinated Olives Pickle (Olive Pickle) | Aceitunas Aliñadas Recipe
A Simple Homemade Tapas Recipe for Pickled Olives
Pickled Olives | How to Make Pickled Olives or Aceitunas Aliñadas Recipe
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.
What is the nutritional value of Olives?
Olives and olive oil are good sources of monounsaturated fat. Olive oil has the highest percentage (over 70%) of monounsaturated fat of any edible oil.
Olives and olive oil also contain other minor components such as pigments, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds that act as antioxidants and may offer protective health benefits
Olives in Spain
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.
What are Pickled Olives?
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.
What flavours can I use for marinating olives?
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.
Serving Suggestions for Pickled Olives
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.
Pickled Olives | Marinated Olives | Aceitunas Aliñadas
Ingredients
- 300 g olives raw
- 3 tablespoon salt fine
- 1 tablespoon fennel spices
- 1 tablespoon thyme spices
- 2 tablespoon coriander spices
- 1 tablespoon paprika sweet
- 300 grams white wine vinegar for the dressing
- 4/5 liters water to cure the olives
- 5/6 number garlic cloves peeled and crushed
Instructions
- Wash the olives and split them. Remove the seeds.
- Put them in a glass container and cover them with water completely.
- Change the water every day for eight days to remove the bitterness. You will use approximately 4/5 litres of water during the eight days of curing.
- After the curing you need to test them for bitterness, if they are not, continue with the recipe. If they are still bitter, continue changing the water until they are cured.
- In a glass container put all the remaining ingredients and mix well.
- Add the cured olives to the mixture.
- Seal the container and set it aside at room temperature for at least two weeks before using the olives.
Notes
- Flavourings can 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.
- The olives become sweeter and more pickled as they ferment, a natural process as it is with wine.
Tools & Equipment Used For This Recipe
FInally! To Sum It Up
Pickled Olives | Marinated Olives
Home cured and pickled olives 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.
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