Home-grown and Marinated Olives

The olives we were soaking in brine are finally ready! Wow, it took a long time, sorry about that. It was worth it though because now we have four fully-stocked jars sitting on our pantry shelves, marinating in rosemary, thyme, fennel, lemon and garlic. It sounds like a lot of flavours doesn't it, but I think the more the merrier when it comes to olives. It's also lucky that I have turned into a great big jar hoarder lately, because they were all put to good use today, and at least i'm not hoarding cats, right?

If you have olive trees in your garden, or on your farm or wherever you live, give this a try. We spent year after year sweeping up the squashed, soft olives from our tiles at the end of every Autumn and threw them in the rubbish. Every season we said we would brine them but just never got around to it. From now on it's going to be a yearly tradition, just like the Italians spend a day making tomato passata, storing it in jars to last the year, we're going to do the same with our olives. Well I hope we do anyway. 

The recipe seems a little long and arduous, and yes, it does take a while, but if you have the olives already growing in your backyard, then make the most of them. The matter of rinsing them really isn't that hard. You might even find yourself starting to like it!

Marinated Olives

an original recipe

Recipe makes 1kg of olives, you will need to begin this recipe approx 6 weeks ahead if you are using unbrined olives straight from the tree. If you like, buy unmarinated olives from a deli and just marinate them yourself instead.  

 

1kg fresh, unbrined olives

1kg sea salt(you can use table salt too, but sea salt is better for you and has a brighter flavour)

Marinade

3 large sprigs each of fresh thyme and rosemary

1 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly toasted

1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced

juice of 1 small lemon

thin strips of lemon rind from 1 lemon

olive oil

Pick 1kg of olives (or however many you have, adjust the recipe accordingly) off the tree when they are large and have turned black (taste one if you dare, it's not very nice but you will get a better understanding of how they are meant to taste when they are ready to eat). In Australia the best time to pick them is around the beginning of March. 

Fill a large Tupperware or plastic container up halfway with cold tap water. Add 1/2 a cup of salt to the water and stir until it has all dissolved. Add the olives and if needed, add more water until the olives are just covered (they will float a bit, don't worry about that). Place the lid on top of the container and store in a cool, dark place. Every 2-3 days for about 4-6 weeks, drain and rinse the olives in a colander and prepare a fresh brine bath using the same method as above. After 4-6 weeks, feel the olives, they should have begun to soften. The olives are ready when they are quite soft, and a little spongy, like a regular olive from the shops feels. Taste one, it should taste quite salty. 

When you think that the olives are ready, rinse and drain them as per usual, and fill the container up with fresh water, do not add salt this time. Leave for 1-2 days. Rinse and drain the olives and pour them into a large mixing bowl. Add the thyme, rosemary, fennel seeds, garlic, lemon juice and rind and 3/4 cup olive oil. Stir until all the olives are coated in the marinade.

Fill approximately four sterilized jars with the olives, making sure that there is a balanced spread of marinade ingredients in each jar. Add an extra 1/4 cup of olive oil to each jar, tightly screw on the lid and gently shake as to evenly distribute the oil and marinade.

Store in a cool, dark place (like a pantry) until ready to use, I would recommend marinating them for at least a week before serving, so the flavours have time to infuse.