I knocked this recipe up to flavour our cured olives last weekend from freshly grown ingredients out of our backyard and the taste was sensational so I thought I would share it with you in this short article.
I can't say the herb/spice mix was my idea as to be honest I copied it from a mix I sometimes get from our local deli. When it comes to flavouring home cured olives (cured the old slow way) there's no need to go overboard with heaps of ingredients because simple is often the best as you don't want to overpower the unique and awesome taste of the humble olive.
Before we start, if you would like to know how I actually cured my home grown olives then go here to our forum and read through this thread on how to cure home grown olives naturally where I explain it in depth.
Once I cure my olives I keep them in the final brine liquid either in the pantry or in the fridge until I need to use them – they should store fine like this for months (probably years). Then, I take out an appropriate amount of olives from the brining solution usually the night or preferably several days before and marinate them in my flavour mix.
Here's the ingredients to make a great Thai chilli olive marinate:
- Qty of fresh coriander leaves and stems chopped up;
- About a tablespoon of coriander seed;
- a bay leaf or two;
- several medium chillies chopped;
- a clove of garlic peeled and bruised plus segmented; and
- freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Mix this altogether and throw the olives in to marinate for as long as possible before serving. If you find the lemon juice is too strong then water it down with tap water or brine liquid from the olives to your taste.
I guarantee this Thai chilli with lemon and coriander marinate will flavour your olives like nothing else – my mouth is watering just thinking about it.
