Because olives only grow in such a specific climate, they can be difficult to come by at your local market. You can find them at Eataly if you live near one or you can purchase them online here. I am lucky enough to have a local Italian grocer who carries fresh olives every so often and started curing my own olives whenever possible. They taste the BEST freshly brined and keep for months. This flavorful recipe was inspired by the Italian restaurant I used to work at and is absolutely delicious. Keep in mind this is a project; it is not labor intensive but it takes time! This will take a little over a month to complete but it is worth it, promise!
Ingredients:
- 1 quart fresh olives
- 3 quarts water + more (used over the course of a month)
- 3/4 cup kosher salt
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- Orange peels from one orange (about 4 individual pieces)
- 4 rosemary sprigs
- 1/4 cup whole black peppercorns
Process:
- Remove any stems and leaves and rinse the olives in a colander. Score each olive lengthwise with a knife.
- Place the scored olives into a large plastic bowl (no metal).
- Cover the olives with cool water and weigh them down with something so that they cannot float and are completely submerged under the water. Let the olives sit in the water for 3 days at room temp.
- Drain the olives and put them back into the plastic bowl.
- Dissolve 3 tablespoons of salt into 1 quart of water and pour over the olives. Submerge olives completely again by weighing them down and let brine for one week.
- Repeat the drain, brine, weigh down process and leave for another week.
- Repeat twice more. The total time this will take is a little over a month.
- Drain the olives and transfer to clean glass jars (ball jars work best).
- Make a brine of 1 1/2 tablespoons salt to 1 pint water and add the red wine vinegar, orange peels, peppercorns and rosemary.
- Pour the brine over the olives and tightly seal.
- Store in the fridge or in a cool dry place like a cellar or basement for up to one year. Let the olives sit in the flavorful brine for atleast a week or two before enjoying!
Source:
- Featured and main photos (Public Domain Pics)
