Blistered Olives

I often catch The Man around here with his hand in the olive jar. He is wild about olives! If you ask him, he’ll tell you they are a gift from the gods.

Many people might agree with him. Especially olive farmers. Olives are handled with such care that they are gently caught in nets to keep them off the ground. (If an olive touches the ground, it no longer qualifies for virgin olive oil.)

While my favorite is oil-cured black olives, his love for the fruit has no bounds. We have about 10 jars in the fridge. No kidding.

He is more than happy with a bowl of olives to munch on, but I decided to raise the olive bar by making these blistered olives for him.

They are so simple yet so satisfying.

I threw together a variety of olives and included a couple caper berries (because caper berries) and herbs from the garden. A sprinkle of red pepper flakes gave them some sass.

I popped them in the oven for about 10 minutes, then added the garlic and roasted them a little longer. (The last thing you want is your garlic to burn.) You’ll know they are ready when their little olive skins start to blister.

I paired them with a lightly toasted baguette and prosecco…holy pit! That was our dinner. We were on the deck dining al fresco. It felt so fancy.

And as if life weren’t already great enough, Tessa of the Natural Comfort Kitchen has made these succulent gems into a healthy zoodle dish. http://naturalcomfortkitchen.com/zucchini-spaghetti-with-blistered-olives/ I imagine it has the flair of puttanesca. I can’t wait to try it!

Let me know if you make these olives! Leave a comment and tag your picture #nakedepicurean on Instagram so I can celebrate with you.

Enjoy!

XXOO AB

Blistered Olives

INGREDIENTS

4 cups mixed olives (I used Castelvetrano, Sicilian, Nicoise, and Kalamata; brined, not marinated)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
6 sprigs of fresh herbs stems removed–thyme, rosemary, parsley
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced or minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or less, if you like)
zest from 1 lemon

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Drain brine from olives.
On a rimmed roasting pan add olives, olive oil, herbs, and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and evenly coat. Roast for 10 minutes.
Toss in garlic. Return to oven for about 7 minutes. The olives will start to blister.
Remove olives from the oven and toss in lemon zest.

Serve warm or room temperature.