Variantes!

Variantes!

More of a technique of preparation than a recipe, variantes are a pretty typical way to elevate a great regional (or, in most of our cases, imported) product with the personal taste and style of the server. And the better the original product, the better the result. But even mediocre olives can get a kick in the flavor department or even become something much much greater than you could have imagined.

Variantes :

1) Get some olives, by any means necessary. They should be great olives, because things like olives should always be the best. But if they aren't, this approach will not only work but improve them.

2) Lightly rinse off the marinade or brine (if any) that the olives were previously in. In the case of oil-packed olives (such as the Morrocan black olives I'm so fond of) that were packed seperately, you should omit this step.

3) Toss the olives in olive oil to coat.

4) Lightly and separately boil raw vegetables such as carrots, spring onions, garlic cloves, celery slices, fresh beans, asparagus, quartered artichoke bottoms, etc. Drain, cool, and add to the olives. Add more olive oil if necessary. (If you're like me, you'll have added too much other stuff

5) Add spices, herbs and other seasonings to taste. (The most typical include thyme, mint, paprika sweet or hot, chile flakes or powder, garlic, black pepper, etc.)

6) Allow to sit for a few hours or a half a day. Serve at room temperature, garnished with fresh chopped parsley, citrus zest, tiny minced bits of garlic or red pepper, or whatever your fancy.

7) These keep well, but perhaps not so well as you might think. Before serving, always remove from the fridge and let sit for at least an hour or so. Stir them up good again after they've sat and redistribute the oil. I recommend adding any raw garnish suggested in (6) to each batch of the olives once you've sat them and stirred them.