These days my phone rarely rings. People send me emails. But the other day I got a call from a friend asking if I wanted to take part in the Spanish Olives marinade competition. Apparently my demonstration on how to prepare cocktail olives to a top Park Lane hotel was still remembered, and this time I could use anything I wanted, so obviously I said yes.
A few days later I received a packed hamper from the good people at Olives from Spain, full of nice treats and the most varied spicy aromas you could get in one place. The hamper included a fine bottle of Codorniu Spanish Cava, black and green pitted olives from Spain (obviously!), Spanish Manchego cheese (best cheese of the year), oranges, lemons, nuts and a whole variety of individually bagged herbs and spices. In fact everything you could want to spice up your olives and make them an absolute treat.
Shortly after delivery, I got another call… “just to clarify, we want the marinade to be edible, not just for cocktails, enjoy, bye.”
Well I was a bit stumped as I had already planned my two favourite Vodka Martini Olive marinades. Drinks are eternal, but good food is seasonal, so thinking along seasonal lines I have come up with two recipes that both look appealing and taste. But it would be a waste not to use my Vodka Martini Cocktail Olive favourites, so I have added those in here too.
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This is my favourite surprise olive, ideally suited for a spiced Vodka or Absolut Chilli Vodka. Just use a suitable glass to serve them in. |
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A pleasing alternative to the lemon or olive choice. Many people do not like the saltiness of a brine stored Olive, so this is a simple and easy way to add flavour and remove salt. |
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It was hard to know when to stop adding ingredients in this seasonal olive plate. Full of rich winter colours and classic Christmas aromas, this was a joy to make and share. Even now the house still has that traditional winter seasonal scent. Use individual ingredients of your choice, or cheat a bit as I did…. |
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A simple, crisp and sweet selection of four ingredients makes this a quick and colourful addition to any table. All the flavours work well together and alone so it is an ideal sharing plate for fussy nibblers. I chose to use Spanish goats cheese for this one, but I could have used the Manchego, or any other firm but flavoursome cheese, which is what is needed for olive nibbles. |
I thoroughly enjoyed putting these Spanish Olive marinades together. It is amazing how well the olives take on the flavours from the marinades, and each one becomes and adventure in its own right. If you have a recipe to follow then they only take minutes to make up and add such a nice extra touch to and meal time or social gathering. In fact they are rather nice even to eat on their own.
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