The market · Fruit · Southern Europe, North Africa, The Middle East
Green olives
Olives picked before they ripen and cured in brine — firmer, grassier and more bitter than black. Essential in chicken with preserved lemon and in Veracruz-style fish.
grassy · bitter · briny
What to do with it
MoroccanFish tagine with charmoulaFish marinated in charmoula, laid over potatoes, tomatoes and peppers with preserved lemon and olives, and cooked slowly in the tagine.No one here has made it yetMexicanPescado a la veracruzanaRed snapper baked or simmered in a sauce of tomato, onion and garlic with green olives, capers and pickled chillies.No one here has made it yetCreole and CajunMuffulettaA round Sicilian sesame loaf, split and stacked with cured meats, provolone and a chopped olive salad soaking into the bread.No one here has made it yet
Kinds
- Manzanilla
- Spanish, crisp and briny — the classic for stuffing.
- Castelvetrano
- Bright green, buttery and mild.
- Picholine
- French, slim and tart.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Delis, with the stone in; stoned olives lose texture.
- Worth knowing
- Blanch very salty olives for a minute in boiling water before cooking them in a sauce.
