A few weeks ago, I laid out the ingredients to make these marinated olives, set up my tripod and recorded the entire process with my trusty little DSLR camera. Then I uploaded the footage to my computer and went on my merry way. A few days later, I tried to upload more footage - footage I needed THAT week - but there was no storage left on the computer, because - newsflash! - videos take up tons of space. So rather than doing the smart thing: plugging in my external hard drive and transferring files over, I went on a deleting rampage, zapping up old files and footage no longer needed and emptying the trashcan with reckless abandon.
You might have an idea where this story is going.
This week, I sat down to edit my olive video and all of the footage was nowhere to be found. NOWHERE. And I looked everywhere. It was obvious what had happened. How could I be so stupid? So careless! After thoroughly beating myself up, I was ready to scrap the whole thing and move on to something else. But then I thought about how deliciously tangy and flavorful these olives are; how they're the perfect little nibble to serve with cocktails, and how guests always gobble them up. I thought about how meyer lemons are just coming back into season and how they're begging to be zested and squeezed into recipes. I pictured how lovely they'd look amongst the spread of hors d'oeuvres on your holiday table, and how appreciative the hostess will be when you walk through the door with a batch of these adorned with a bow.
I thought about how much I'd be depriving you by not posting the recipe, and I don't ever want to do that. So I very carefully cleared more space on the computer, bought more olives and got back into the kitchen to recreate the video. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it (both times).
PrintMeyer Lemon Marinated Olives
These olives are the perfect addition to any cheese board or appetizer platter. Pass them around at your next dinner party!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: appetizer
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: american
Ingredients
- 1-2 Meyer Lemons
- 1 sprig fresh thyme (lemon thyme is nice)*
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary*
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- 1 small dried red chile, halved (optional) - recommended: Chile de Arbol
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups assorted green and black olives with about ½ cup brine**
Instructions
- Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from one meyer lemon, being careful to avoid as much of the white pith as you can. Roughly chop the thyme, rosemary and bay leaves so they're in large pieces. Add the zest, herbs, garlic, chile (if using) and olive oil to a medium saucepan, then place it on the stove over medium low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes to let the aromatics infuse.
- Remove from the heat and add the olives while still warm. Squeeze the juice from 1-2 meyer lemons (I like mine extra tangy) and mix to combine.
- Transfer to a bowl, cover and let marinate over night or longer for best results. Let sit at room temperature before serving.
- remove from the heat and at the olives, then squeeze in the juice from one or two meyer lemons - i like mine extra tangy.
- give them a stir and let them hang out in the fridge for a day or so to soak up all that awesome flavor.
Notes
- *You can opt to use either thyme, rosemary or both. If only dry herbs are available, use about ¼ teaspoon each.
- **I prefer mostly green olives for this mix, but any will work. My favorites are are cerignola, castelvetrano and lucque
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 114
- Sugar: 0.6 g
- Sodium: 165.5 mg
- Fat: 11.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 3.7 g
- Protein: 0.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Danielle
Beautiful! Definitely worth take 2! You know I've got Meyer lemons coming out of my ears right now, and this is one thing I have not made! I'm making a giant batch right away.
p.s. love that shirt.
Coley
You go ahead and add an extra squeeze of lemon to yours. 😉
Andrea
I love marmalade - and don't like sniorng dogs so I would inhale the marmalade and exile the dog. I love the picture of your daughter styling her photos. I will have photoshoots and spend all morning taking pictures of cupcakes or cookies or easter eggs (and I've done all these). At this time of the year I have to plan ahead and do my photoshoots on Saturday morning when there is enough light since I work all week.
Bruno
Are you telling me that you do all of your own food styling? Some of your pieces are so freaking professional that I always assumed that you hired a pro from NYC! Your photos could be in Food and Wine or Saveur. Dang. I'm impressed (again).
Coley
Gee wiz, thanks Bruno! Last year I started my journey to becoming a better photographer and food stylist. I'm so glad to hear it's been paying off!
Marwane
Would love a jar, I LOVE marmalade... and make my own as well. Ours are plums, beuscae in our new house we have LOTS of plum trees! (Or is that "Jam"?) Anyway, Oliver is too cute to kick out.... but you need your rest too... Our dog has his own dog bed at the side of ours... he still snores but at least I can stretch in my own bed and not be a visitor.
Nicolas
No marmalade for me here in oz, not a fan but loove lemon btteur. No nO No don't let the dog stay in the bed! He won't stay little, soft and floppy for long, he'll soon be huge and not as yummy smelling. Set up a soft squishy bed of his own, someplace inside where he is in a prime position to keep an eye on everything and try to do some guarding while he sleeps. Good Luck!
mark hartung
mam......that is one hell of a recipe..........just picked close to 500 off 3 trees .........going to make this a lot...........