{"id":18630,"date":"2016-05-21T13:08:21","date_gmt":"2016-05-21T11:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/?p=18630"},"modified":"2016-05-23T11:04:36","modified_gmt":"2016-05-23T09:04:36","slug":"olives-with-lemon-zest-and-fennel-seeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/?p=18630","title":{"rendered":"Olives with Lemon Zest and Fennel Seeds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"fennel_olivesp\"I haven’t bought seasoned olives for long year because homemade ones are simply better, cheaper and can be\u00a0ready in about\u00a0five minutes. Until now I have been seasoning them either European<\/a> or what I call Korean style<\/a>, always applying the same method (i.e. combine everything and put into the fridge). I eat them all year round, at any time of the day, at every occasion and\u00a0even take them as an afternoon snack to the office. Somehow I\u00a0feel this newly discovered version will be my first choice\u00a0for hot\u00a0summer evenings… These olives are\u00a0particularly refreshing, slightly tangy and, maybe because of the fennel seeds, they\u00a0simply beg for a glass of ouzo!<\/p>\n

I found this mixture of flavours in Smashing Plates by\u00a0Maria Elia<\/a>, a wonderful imaginative source of Greek- and Cypriot-inspired recipes. I’ve barely\u00a0modified the amounts and the method, but I strongly encourage everyone to check Smashing Plates<\/a>, an original take on traditional Greek culinary traditions.<\/p>\n

TIPS: As a big fan of fennel seeds and in general whole seeds as condiments, I loved the additional crunch and texture they add. If you don’t like the idea of whole seeds (or you aren’t sure about your guests’ preferences), you might use of course ground fennel seeds, but I’d advise coarse ground (and do it after roasting whole seeds).<\/p>\n

The author advises to warm in the pan all\u00a0the seasoning ingredients, but I prefer harsher taste of both garlic and chilli, so I have skipped it and only roasted the fennel seeds. Choose the method that suits you best.<\/p>\n

Preparation: about 5-10 minutes<\/em><\/p>\n

Ingredients (serves as a drinks snack for 8 people):<\/em><\/p>\n

500 g brined olives (unseasoned, of course), drained and rinsed<\/em><\/p>\n

3 medium garlic cloves, grated, crushed or finely sliced<\/em><\/p>\n

2 tablespoons fennel seeds<\/em><\/p>\n

2 fresh chillies, chopped (any heat level and colour will be fine; all depends on your preferences)<\/em><\/p>\n

lemon zest from one medium lemon, cut into small pieces<\/em><\/p>\n

5 tablespoons olive oil (or more)<\/em><\/p>\n

Heat a pan on medium heat and roast fennel seeds for about 30 seconds (don’t burn them).<\/p>\n

Combine with all the remaining ingredients and olives.<\/p>\n

You can serve these olives straight away if you are in a hurry, but they improve after a night in the fridge (of course covered). If you have kept them in the fridge, take them out about 30 minutes before serving because the oil will solidify during the refrigeration.<\/p>\n

They usually keep in the fridge for at least a week (or more).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I haven’t bought seasoned olives for long year because homemade ones are simply better, cheaper and can be\u00a0ready in about\u00a0five minutes. Until now I have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[220,209,125,50,85,18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18630"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18630"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18630\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18642,"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18630\/revisions\/18642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}