Try This Healthy 5 Min Recipe
It’s not that I’m a crazy fanatic of olives, but I always have a jar in my kitchen. Why? For several reasons: Almost every person I know likes olives, they are cheap, they don’t go bad, they don’t need a long time to cook, and they are the perfect accompaniment to other dishes like meat, pizza, salads, etc. Basically, you can use them to make a perfect appetizer for unexpected guests in about 5 minutes. What kind of appetizer? I’ve got you covered. See my quick and easy black olive recipe below!
Photos, styling and text by Marta Fowlie aka Food Polka
Black olive appetizer
Shopping List (serves 4):
- 1 can pitted, black olives (possibly large)
- 1 bunch fresh mint
- 1/2 cup grape tomatoes
- 4 large cloves of garlic
- 4 small Persian cucumbers (or other available, but with the smallest diameter)
- olive oil
- 1 small lemon
- well aged balsamic vinegar
- 1 small heart of romaine lettuce (leaves separated)
- salt and black pepper
Now follow these steps:
- Wash tomatoes and cucumbers and let it dry; cut each tomato in half and slice cucumbers.
- Drain olives and dry thoroughly; using fingers split each of them in half (lengthwise).
- Peel the garlic cloves and chop into small pieces.
- Zest and juice lemon.
- Mix olives, garlic, lemon zest and juice in one bowl, sprinkle generously with olive oil and balsamic vinegar; season with salt and pepper to you liking; cover up and leave in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
- Wash mint, separate leaves from stalks and cut into narrow strips (chifonade); add it to the mix the olives and mix thoroughly.
- Scoop into hearts of Romain lettuce; garnish with cucumber slices and tomatoes.
Photos, styling and text by Marta Fowlie aka Food Polka