Olives—you either love them, or you hate them? For our olive-lovers out there, this is the article for you. Here are the best quickfire ways in which you can add olives to your favourite dishes to please the crowds. From grazing platters to bakes, and everything in between.
Olives add a brilliant salty bite to focaccia bread. Warm focaccia bread coming out of the oven with rock salt and rosemary is a mouthwatering thought—adding a few olives into the mix is mind-blowing.
Adding a mixture of green olives and cherry tomatoes to the bottom of a roast tray is a fantastic way to add flavour to baked meats. We recommend baking fish on top of the tomato/olive bake tray and serving it with a bowl of orzo. Not only does this taste phenomenal, but taking a platter of baked deliciousness out of the oven that looks like a Da Vinci painting is a sure-fire way to impress guests.
For something more snack-oriented, try warm olives with pickled lemon and fennel. Heating the olives encourages them to absorb more flavours—a great starter to prepare your guests for an olive filled night.
Pasta. There are 1000 different ways to make pastas and pasta sauces, many of which include olives. Next time you are making pasta, throw some olives in and see what happens. From a green olive, linguine and feta dish, to a tomato, olive and caper penne meal, olives work with pasta—the Mario and Luigi of the culinary world. Not necessarily, but try it out.
There is no doubt that olives work in salads, too. You practically can’t have a Greek Salad without olives, for example. There are other ways in which you can combine the two, though. Try an olive and cheese salad for the perfect combination of salty and savoury. This salad is also extremely versatile—throw it on a piece of baguette, and you have the ideal snack idea.
For a few less traditional ideas, there are other ways in which olives can be utilised. If placed between your upper lip and gum, you can make a funny face to entertain your guests for hours. Additionally, sticking olives in your nose is another excellent gag. At fancy dinner parties, olives are great for lobbing across the room at unsuspecting guests, but you didn’t hear that here.
There are many ways in which olives can be used in cooking. There are also a few unconventional ways in which olives can help liven a party—and we didn’t even mention Martinis!
