BAKED GREEK OLIVES

Good Afternoon to you,

I am so sorry that I was not with you last Thursday, unfortunately I was unwell.   I succumbed to one of the numerous viruses which seem to be around at the moment.... and to be honest, it has taken me a little while to shake it off.

.... but thankfully, I am on the mend now. I feel sure it is partly due to George making me vegetable juice every day, in a bid to build up my immune system.

As I am not 100% fit at the moment,  I do not have a story to tell you, but what I would like to share, is, something, which I made for George, before I became poorly last week and which I had fully intended to share with you last Thursday.

These fabulous baked Greek Olives.  Have you ever tried them?

To be honest I had never eaten a baked olive until the last time I lived in Cyprus.  A friend of ours Nikos, who owned a local restaurant, always served baked olives, as part of his winter meze menu.  I remember feeling intrigued, wondering if the olives would be as enjoyable once they were baked, but do you know, they were lovely. 

The olives which Nikos made, were purely olives, baked in the oven, but the olives we are making today have a few more added ingredients.

Normally, I would eat olives with the stones still intact, because I find the flavour to be much more intense, but I cannot pass up stoneless olives, which are on offer. I usually buy 3 or 4  jars for my store cupboard and I find when I add the extra ingredients , the flavour of these olives are definitely enhanced.

So it's on with the pinnie, ready to make, this very simple recipe.

INGREDIENTS 

YOU WILL NEED

TO

MAKE

BAKED GREEK OLIVES

Serves: 4

100g black olives in brine

100g green olives in brine

1 tablespoon crushed coriander seeds

Zest of half a lemon, cut into thin strips

1 dried bay leaf

1 large clove of garlic - finely sliced

150 ml olive oil

HOW 

TO MAKE

BAKED GREEK OLIVES

Drain the olives

and rinse

under 

running cold water.

Allow to drain.

When drained,

place both the green and the black olives

into a medium sized dish

and mix together.

Crush the coriander seeds

and add to the bowl of

olives.

Remove the lemon zest

from the lemon

and

finely slice.

Add to the bowl of olives.

Finely slice the garlic.

Add to the bowl of olives,

along with the

dried bay leaf.

Pour the olive oil

over the olive mixture

and

Mix the ingredients

together.

Place a plate over the top of the bowl

and leave to

marinate for

at least an hour.

15 minutes before the end of the hour,

pre-heat the oven to 180C.

Cut 4 pieces of tin foil,

10" by 12".

Divide the olive mixture into 4 equal parts.

Cut the bay leaf into 4 pieces

and

add to each quarter of olives.

Place  the divided olives into the centre

of each piece of foil.

Bring the 4 corners together

and scrunch.

You might have to scrunch the sides

as well.

Place the quarters onto a baking tray

and

then

place the tray

into the pre-heated oven

 for

15 minutes

or until

the olives are nice and hot.

Carefully open the parcels

to allow the steam to escape.

When you open the parcel,

your senses will be filled with the aroma of the zesty

lemon, the sliced garlic and

the pungent aroma of the crushed coriander seeds.

All there is left to do

is

place the contents of each

parcel into a dish.

Cut some crusty bread
for dipping into the warm olive oil

and

Enjoy.

To be honest, these measurements are really approximates, but I want you to try this recipe first and then you will know, if you prefer more garlic or more lemon zest.

For instance, I tend to add the juice, from half a lemon, for George, as he enjoys the extra acidity, with his olives.

Whereas I, love the flavours, just as they are.

Also, just as an added extra, I have also added cubed Feta cheese to the parcels as well.... another flavour we enjoy.

Just before I leave you, I want to say thank you, to all my friends who left me comments the week before last.  Now that I am on the mend, I will be catching up with you over the weekend.

By next Thursday, I will be right as rain, so until then, take care.

This week I will be joining,

Mary from The Boondocks for Sweet Inspiration Friday

Laurie for Brag About It Link Party

Linda for Dishing It & Digging It Link Party

As Always,