Cracked Olives in Fennel Brine
Fresh green olives cracked open, leached of their bitterness in water, then preserved in brine flavored with fennel and vinegar. The emblematic preserve of the ancient Mediterranean pantry.
Fresh green olives cracked open, leached of their bitterness in water, then preserved in brine flavored with fennel and vinegar. The emblematic preserve of the ancient Mediterranean pantry.
A good house never lets winter catch it unprepared, mark my words. As soon as the olive tree yields its fruit, I crack them with a stone, then bathe them in clear water that I renew each day to drive out the bitterness. Then, in brine spiced with fennel and a splash of vinegar, they wait patiently at the bottom of the jar. Thus, in every season, my table never lacks something to enliven the barley flatbread.
- •Fresh green olives — a full basket (base)
- •Spring water — to be renewed (leaching)
- •Sea salt — generously (brine)
- •Wild fennel (seeds and stalks) — a few sprigs (flavor)
- •Wine vinegar — a splash (preservation and acidity)
Cracked Olives in Fennel Brine
Fresh green olives cracked open, leached of their bitterness in water, then preserved in brine flavored with fennel and vinegar. The emblematic preserve of the ancient Mediterranean pantry.
Why this dish? In every Greek palace, jars of olives in brine are filled to last the year. This preserved *opson* accompanies every *maza* on Alcmene's table: the domestic wisdom of a mistress who knows how to feed her household out of season.
A good house never lets winter catch it unprepared, mark my words. As soon as the olive tree yields its fruit, I crack them with a stone, then bathe them in clear water that I renew each day to drive out the bitterness. Then, in brine spiced with fennel and a splash of vinegar, they wait patiently at the bottom of the jar. Thus, in every season, my table never lacks something to enliven the barley flatbread.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh green olives — a full basket (base)
- Spring water — to be renewed (leaching)
- Sea salt — generously (brine)
- Wild fennel (seeds and stalks) — a few sprigs (flavor)
- Wine vinegar — a splash (preservation and acidity)
Ingredients
- Raw green olives (untreated) — 500 g (base)
- Water — to cover, to be renewed (leaching)
- Coarse salt — 100 g per liter of brine (brine)
- Fennel seeds — 1 tbsp (flavor)
- Wine vinegar — 3 tbsp (preservation and acidity)
Method
- Crack each olive with a sharp blow (flat stone or mallet) without crushing the pit, to open the flesh.
- Place the olives in water and change the water daily for 8 to 10 days to remove bitterness (taste to judge).
- Prepare a brine by dissolving salt in water (about 100 g per liter).
- Drain the olives, place them in a jar with the fennel, cover with brine, and add the vinegar.
- Let mature in a cool place for at least 2 weeks before tasting; top with a layer of oil for better preservation.
How it was made : The olive, sacred to the Greeks (gift of Athena), was preserved in brine or ash to be consumed year-round, and above all its oil was extracted, a pillar of the diet and economy. Water leaching to remove the natural bitterness of raw olives is an ancient technique still practiced today. Wild fennel grew everywhere around the Mediterranean.
The contemporary twist : Drained and marinated in olive oil with lemon zest and fresh fennel, they become appetizer olives 'from Alcmene's pantry'.
Alcmene · Charactorium