Ingredients:
- two kg. of olives
- salt
- wild fennel
Preparation:
Pickled olives are a typical appetizer of the Mediterranean culinary tradition. The olives are put in brine to preserve them for a long time and to make them tastier thanks to the addition of spices and flavourings. An excellent solution for a healthy and tasty aperitif.
Pickled olives are an easy appetizer to make at home. However, to get the most out of it, it’s important to follow a few essential steps.
First of all, you have to leave the olives in fresh water for a week, changing the water every day. This will help eliminate the bitterness of the olives and make them softer. It is important to use fresh water every day to prevent the olives from fermenting.
After a week, boil a liter of water with 120 gr. of salt, until the salt has completely dissolved. At this point, it is necessary to let the water cool, keeping the lid closed to prevent any bacteria present in the air from being contaminated. It will take a few hours for the water to cool.
In the meantime, you need to sterilize the containers where you will put the olives. To do this, you need to wash the containers well and boil them in water for a few minutes, in order to eliminate any germs and bacteria present.
After the salted water has cooled down, wash the olives and wild fennel well under running water. Then, you have to fill the containers with the olives, placing a few sprigs of fennel in the middle, up to the edge of the container. Finally, add the warmed salt water until it overflows, in order to avoid leaving air inside the container. This will help preserve the pickled olives in the best way possible.
Close the containers well and wait about 3 months before consuming the olives. This way, the olives will have time to marinate in the brine and become even tastier. You can serve them as an appetizer or as a side dish to accompany meat or cheese or as an ingredient for the preparation of more elaborate dishes.
