Olives - An Immortal Fruit
By Carole Kotkin


Briny, nutty and absolutely tantalizing with a chilled glass of wine, the simple little olive can be credited with rescuing many a host faced with an impromptu gathering of friends at the cocktail hour. Much like the near-perfect egg and the self-contained banana, it's an extraordinary comestible that can stand alone or add texture and flavor to a more complicated dish.

The olive has been immortalized in print by many authors, but perhaps the first to hail its attributes was Pliny the Elder, who noted in A.D. 50, "Except the vine, there is no plant which bears a fruit of as great importance as the olive."

In the modern era, the olive continues to captivate. Mort Rosenblum eloquently documents the diminutive oval morsel in Olives -- The Life and Lore of a Noble Fruit: "Olives, like grapes, are essential to any life worth living. But you can't see by the light of burning wine, or massage a friend's temples in grape juice, or heat a house with vines."

Over the past few years, the olive has undergone a remarkable renaissance. Specialty markets, delis and even supermarkets are offering a profusion of mouthwatering salt- and brine-cured artisanal varieties that transcend the bulk-processed canned and jarred California olives of our youth. (Perhaps those who lack a taste for olives have been biased by the rubbery, mass-produced impersonators.)

For me, it took a trip to Spain many years ago to learn what olives really should be, and the experience turned me into a bona fide olive addict. Virtually every restaurant and tapas bar I visited offered a tantalizing array of olives -- some cured with fiery red peppers, some with bittersweet orange peels, and others perfumed with oregano and thyme. Some were stuffed with anchovies, pimento or almonds; others were transformed into tapenades.

American chefs and home cooks are revisiting culinary traditions such as these and updating them for contemporary palates.

At Olives restaurants in Boston, New York, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C. and Aspen, small dishes of olives marinated with fresh herbs, spices, citrus zest, fresh ginger and garlic are set out on every table, offering diners a tempting snack before dinner. "Olives are God's gift to the Mediterranean," says Chef Todd English, the founder of the wildly popular restaurants that bear the fruit's name. "I grew up listening to romantic stories and fables about growing and curing olives from my Italian relatives," he relates. "I became fascinated with them."

English likes to use olives of varying size, texture and flavor in his Mediterranean-inspired cooking. "I often use green olives with dishes that include dried or fresh fruit. And I use black olives in dishes with garlic and anchovies," he explains. For English, there seems to be no end to the olive's role: He loves the flavors that olives add to cooked dishes, employing them in tarts, in pastas and risottos, and using them liberally to accent fish, rabbit, lamb and chicken dishes.

The adaptable and seductive olive has long been a dietary staple. And although the Mediterranean countries where the fruit has thrived for almost 6,000 years would love to claim it, botanists theorize its origins are in the Middle East and western Asia.

In all countries where olive trees grow, they are said to symbolize good luck, peace and plenitude.

Egyptian mummies were preserved with olive oil and adorned with olive branches, while cured olives were stashed in the Pharaohs' tombs as food for the afterlife.

The ancient Greeks believed the olive was a gift of the goddess Athena. According to their mythology, Zeus offered a Greek city to the god who provided man with the most worthwhile creation. Athena won the city, now known as Athens, by giving the Greeks the olive tree. As a result, olive trees became so sacred in Hellenic society that those who dared to cut one down were exiled or condemned to death.

For Christians and Jews, the revered olive tree has been a familiar reference in both the Bible's Old and New Testaments.

Historians believe Columbus brought the first casks of these cherished fruits to the New World. Centuries later, Thomas Jefferson would write, "The olive tree is surely the richest gift from heaven." A noted epicure, he stocked his Monticello pantry with the hardy fruit.

Today's increased availability of premium olives, along with the popularity of Mediterranean cuisine, have made traditionally cured olives an almost ubiquitous staple in modern-day cooking and entertaining. Adding impetus to the trend is the growing fondness among Americans for distinctly flavored, high-quality olive oils. Terrance Brennan, chef-proprietor of the award-winning Picholine and Artisanal restaurants in New York City, even credits our interest in olives to the return of the martini. (He serves martinis garnished with very large Spanish or Greek olives stuffed with a blue cheese such as Stilton.)

Picholine takes its name from the crisp, mild olive grown in the south of France, the region that Brennan draws so extensively from for his Mediterranean-inspired dishes. As his restaurant's name indicates, Brennan is enchanted by the olive. His signature Picholine olives, perfect when paired with a happy-hour cocktail, are seasoned with cumin, lemon zest, coriander seed, fennel seed, hot pepper flakes, herbes de Provence and olive oil.

Indeed, Brennan's background is olive-intensive. He worked in both the south of France and Italy, where he learned, among other things, that "green" and "black" are not different types of olives.

All olives start out green, or unripe. As they ripen on the tree, they turn from pale green to pinkish red to reddish brown, and then to black. The darker the olive, the higher the oil content. High oil content means a richer flavor. Some varieties are best picked green, such as France's picholine and the manzanilla from Spain. Deep-black, ripe olives, such as Niçoise from France or the Greek kalamata, are best picked at full maturity.

When cooking with olives, Brennan advises restraint. "Olives have high flavor and can easily take over a dish, so they should be used discreetly," he says. "I never use olives in more than one course so the meal is well balanced."

While many chefs seem to favor olives from France, the world's foremost growers are Spain and Italy with some 400 million olive trees between them. Other producers of note include Greece, Portugal, Tunisia, Turkey and now California.

Of the 750 million trees planted worldwide, only ten percent of the annual harvest goes toward the production of table olives. The balance is used for oil. The tree itself is virtually indestructible, with an average life span of 200 years and the potential to live for centuries beyond that -- some have even surpassed 2,000 years in age.

But however venerable the tree, olives cannot be eaten off the branch.

Harvested in the fall, the raw fruit is terribly bitter and astringent, and must be cured before it becomes edible. The inherent characteristics found in different types of olives, as well as the regional customs where the fruit is grown, have yielded various curing procedures. The three general methods are lye-curing (favored by large producers), brine-curing and dry-curing. The latter two methods are associated with higher quality fruit. To leach out their bitterness, olives are cured in a salt brine for one to two months, or rubbed with coarse salt and dry-cured. The brine-cured olives will have a moist-looking exterior and a smooth, shiny skin, while the dry-cured olives, which have subsequently been washed and rubbed with oil, will appear wrinkled and shriveled, and usually will possess an intense, bolder flavor.

"I grew up curing olives," says Michael Chiarello, the founder of NapaStyle and the first chef at Napa Valley's Tra Vigne. The second-generation Italian-American was raised in Turlock by a family that was in the grocery business. "My mom called the Calabrian blend of green Sicilian olives she cured using ash, stezzochino, which for her meant Ôbe quiet and eat this.' She would bring these out to stave off our appetites while she cooked," he recalls. These roasted garlic-flavored olives have graced the bar at Tra Vigne for the past 15 years. (Mom's Calabrian olives are now available at www.napastyle.com.)

Chiarello, who retells stories of immigrants bringing over olive cuttings in the hope of propagating them for fruit and oil, pairs mild, green Sicilian olives with seafood because the olives are not overpowering. He also says "rich, fatty" kalamata olives make a versatile flavoring agent for salads, seafood dishes and hearty sauces. The kalamata olive oil, he notes, is especially suitable for dunking bread.

Suzanne Goin, chef-proprietor of Lucques in Los Angeles, says "olives are the soul of my restaurant," but she's apt to use them in their "raw" form. "I do like to cook with olives, but they can overpower a broth or sauce if you're not careful," she notes, adding, "I also prefer the crunch and texture of an uncooked olive as well as the brightness of the uncooked flavor. I've learned to let the ingredients be the stars."

Her restaurant is named after the elegant, green French olives she encountered while working at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, which she now serves in little French tin dishes as a prelude to dinner along with roasted almonds and crusty breads.

Goin, who describes her cooking as Californian with a Mediterranean accent, says starting out a meal with "olives and a glass of rosé creates a joie de vivre that gives the whole dining experience a sense of celebration."

She is particularly adept at cooking up hearty, comforting dishes such as braised chicken Moroccan-style with preserved lemons and green olives; lamb osso buco with summer beans and tapenade; and lobster, mussels and clams with saffron risotto and cracked green olives. She notes that the choice of olive will affect the flavors of the final dish.

"Understanding olives is like understanding wine," she says, "Different cultures and regions contribute unique flavors and subtleties."

the olive alphabet

The taste, texture and degree of oiliness make each olive type distinct, and although they are high in monounsaturated fat, they are packed with nutritional value -- vitamins E and A, and minerals including calcium and potassium.

Arbequina: Very small, ranging from beige to taupe, greenish to brown. Brine-cured. Little meat, but fairly strong, herbal and almond flavors. Eaten out of hand. (Spain)

Black Alfonsos: Soft-skinned and tender. Vinegar-cured. Eaten out of hand; in salads; marinated in vinegar and olive oil. (Chile, Peru, Argentina)

Cracked Green: Firm, cracked, pale green. Brine-cured. Nutty bitterness. Marinated in herbs. (France, Greece)

Gaeta: Small, wrinkled, black. Dry-cured then rubbed with oil. Mild. Slight plum-like taste. Use: pasta dishes and pizza. (Italy)

Kalamata: Purple-black and shiny. Brine-cured, then jarred in vinegar. Meaty and juicy. Fruity taste. Marinated in olive oil for robust, smoky flavor. Use: salads, tomato dishes, lamb. (Greece)

Lebanese Green: Oblong, plump, brown-green. Big, briny aroma. Salty with strong thyme-rosemary notes. Eaten out of hand. (Lebanon)

Ligurian: Brown-purple-black and shiny. Tough-skinned. Intense, rich, bitter flavor with hints of herbs. Marinated in citrus, fennel, garlic and olive oil. (Italy)

Lucques: Named after Lucca, the Italian province. Curved, elongated shape with full-bodied flavor. Eaten out of hand. Use: salads, chicken or fish. (France)

Manzanilla: Small to medium size, crisp and green. Smoky. Easy to pit and often stuffed with pimento paste. The classic martini olive, frequently dressed with olive oil and garlic. Use: rice, beans, poultry, fish and meat. (California, Spain)

Moroccan Salt- or Oil-Cured: Medium size, jet black. Dry-cured then rubbed with oil. Slightly bitter and smoky. Best used in cooking; marinated with spices such as cumin and hot chili peppers. Use: chicken, duck or lamb. (Morocco, California)

Nabali: Oval, plump, dark green. Soft flesh. The brine is seasoned with lemon, garlic and vinegar. Eaten out of hand or in salads. (Israel)

Nafplion: Small, oval, cracked, dull green. Brine-cured. Fresh, fruity, tart taste. Serve with sharp Greek cheese. Use: stews, salads. (Greece)

Niçoise: Tiny, brownish. Brine-cured. Often packed with herbs. Use: salade Niçoise (tuna, hard-cooked eggs, green beans, tomatoes), pissaladière (Provençal onion, olive and anchovy pizza), braised meat. (France)

Nyons: Small, greenish black. Dry-cured then rubbed with oil. Slightly bitter. Use as an ingredient in a tapenade or dress with garlic, olive oil, herbes de Provence (a mix of basil, lavender, thyme, fennel, savory, rosemary). (France)

Picholine: Tiny, elongated, green. Brine-cured. Sweet (as olives go) with a crunchy texture. Picholine is the name of a curing process that produces crisp, very mild and nutty olives. Eaten out of hand. Use: chicken, rabbit or fish. (France, cultivated worldwide)

Provçenal: Medium-green, marinated in fragrant herbs de Provence. Herbal aroma and clear olive taste. Eaten out of hand and enjoyed in salads. (France) ¦

Food Editor Carole Kotkin is a Miami-based cooking instructor and consultant who co-authored Mmmmiami -- Tempting Tropical Tastes for Home Cooks Everywhere.

RECIPES & TIPS

The best cooks select an olive according to the type of food they are preparing, just as they choose the proper wine.

Most olives are sold with their pits because removing them strips the fruit of flavor. Depending on where and how olives are grown, at which stage they are harvested and how carefully they are picked, the flavor and texture of the fruit vary dramatically.

In selecting olives, taste as wide a variety as possible, in order to compare and discover those that suit your own preferences. Armed with a few definitions and guidelines, it's not difficult to be discerning.
Olives should have a fairly consistent texture and appearance, without soft spots, dents or bruises -- a condition to which lighter-colored olives are particularly vulnerable if they have been roughly handled -- and should feel comparatively firm for the style.
A good olive should be neither too salty nor too bitter.
They should not have an acrid odor, but should capture and impart the fresh aroma of its tree.
Size doesn't matter. Often the smallest ones from Nice or the tiny Ligurian olives have the most flavor.
Unopened olives can be stored at room temperature for up to two years. Once opened, they can be refrigerated in their own liquid for several weeks. Sometimes if olives have been refrigerated for a period of time, a harmless white film develops on the surface. Remove it for aesthetic reasons only.


Whole olives are wonderful as a simple appetizer, but when used in tapenades, stews or other dishes, they usually need to be pitted. The technique used to accomplish the task often depends on the olive type. Some have flesh that sticks to the pit, while other varieties are softer and will yield their pits without a struggle.

One of the easiest meals you can make using olives is a tossed dish of cooked pasta, minced garlic to taste, ribboned basil, sun-dried tomatoes and a handful of pitted olives. Drizzle with olive oil, season to taste and serve with crusty bread.

For those with more enthusiasm for cooking, a number of recipes follow that offer more complex flavors.

Warm Olives with Fresh Herbs
From Carole Kotkin's kitchen
4 ounces Niçoise olives
4 ounces picholine olives
2 ounces kalamata olives
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Several sprigs fresh rosemary and thyme
Several strips of lemon peel


Heat all ingredients until warm. Do not boil. Before serving, discard any herbs that have turned brown and replenish with fresh herbs. Serve warm.

Makes 11/4 cups.

Individual Pissaladières
Adapted from a recipe by
Chef Terrance Brennan of Picholine

For the Dough:
1 package active dry yeast
11/2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups flour
Dissolve yeast and sugar in a bowl of warm water. Allow it to ferment for 10 minutes. Add the remainder of the ingredients and mix well. Divide dough equally into 12 pieces. Roll the dough into balls and place onto oiled parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Place a large-sized pizza stone in a 500° oven for 1 hour.

Remove dough from the refrigerator and uncover. Either roll or press circles flat with your fingertips. The resulting size should be 3" in diameter.

For the Caramelized Onions:
3 medium-sized onions, chopped
3 sprigs thyme, tied together
4 tablespoons olive oil
11/2 teaspoons anchovy fillets, chopped
11/2 tablespoons Nyons olives, pitted and chopped
Pinch of sea salt
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, sauté the olive oil, onions and thyme sprigs over medium-high heat. Stir constantly to avoid any burning. Once the onions are tender and dark amber in color (about 10-12 minutes), remove the thyme sprigs. Add the anchovies, olives and sea salt to the pan.

Divide the caramelized onion mixture evenly between the circles Using a spatula, transfer each pissaladière to the preheated baking stone. Reduce heat to 450 degrees and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Sprinkle cheese over each hors d'oeuvre and serve.

Serves 12

Olive Tapenade
Chef Todd English of Olives
1 cup kalamata or Niçoise olives, pitted
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed
3 oil-cured anchovy fillets
Zest and juice of half a lemon
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley (optional)
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 baguette, sliced into rounds and toasted
Coarsely chop olives, garlic, capers, anchovies and lemon zest on parchment-covered cutting board. Place chopped mixture in a bowl. Add pepper, mustard, parsley and juice of the zested lemon, and stir in enough olive oil to bind the mixture together. Serve on baguette rounds as an hors d'oeuvre or on sandwiches, grilled chicken or fish.

Makes 1 cup

Pasta Puttanesca
Adapted from a recipe by
Chef Michael Chiarello of NapaStyle
1 pound dried pasta
11/2 cups marinara sauce (preferably homemade)
1/4 cup clam juice (preferably unsalted)
2 teaspoons anchovies, chopped and smashed
2 teaspoons salted or canned capers, rinsed and chopped
1/2 cup each kalamata and picholine olives, pitted and quartered
1/2 cup peeled, seeded and diced tomatoes (if fresh tomatoes are not available, increase the marinara sauce to 2 cups)
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped, or 11/2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, finely chopped (optional)
11/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
11/2 teaspoons Pepperoncino Piccante Chili "Paste," (optional)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pitting olives:

To remove pits from most olives, either use a cherry-olive pitter or place them between towels on a work surface and tap them gently with the side of a chef's knife or cleaver. You can also lightly "roll" the olives with a rolling pin to loosen the pits.

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until firm to the bite.

While the pasta is cooking, whisk the marinara sauce and clam juice together. Add the remaining ingredients. Check and adjust the seasoning.

Toss sauce and drained hot pasta in the pan. The sauce is also good over grilled fish or on bruschetta.

Makes 21/2 to 3 cups of sauce. Serves 4

Endive Salad with Oil-Cured Olives
Adapted from a recipe by
Suzanne Goin of Lucques

Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 tablespoons lemon juice (Meyer or other juicy lemon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup heavy cream
Macerate shallots in lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl for five minutes. Whisk in olive oil. Stir in heavy cream. Taste for seasoning.

Salad:
2 shallots, sliced thin
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 heads Belgian endive, separated into spears
1 cup shucked fava beans (in season)
1/3 cup oil-cured olives, pitted and julienned
2 tablespoons chives cut in 2" lengths
1 lemon (Meyer or other juicy lemon) sliced very thin
Macerate shallots in lemon juice and salt in a small bowl for 5 minutes. Dress the endive with vinaigrette. Toss in the fava beans, lemon slices and macerated shallots. Taste for seasoning and serve on cold salad plates. Scatter the olives and herbs over the salads.

Serves 6

Roast Chicken Provençal
From Carole Kotkin's kitchen
1 medium-size lemon, quartered
1 5-pound roasting chicken
Bunch fresh thyme sprigs
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon coarse black pepper
2 pounds whole small (about 11/2 inch) red potatoes
1 large red onion, sliced through root end into eighths
2 whole heads garlic, cut lengthwise in half
15 kalamata olives, pitted
2 plum tomatoes, cut lengthwise in half
Place lemon inside chicken. Chop enough thyme for 2 teaspoons. Reserve remainder for garnish. Mix 1 teaspoon chopped thyme, 2 teaspoons oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Rub over chicken. Place in large roasting pan. Combine potatoes, onion, garlic, olives, remaining chopped thyme, remaining oil, salt and pepper. Arrange potatoes around chicken. Roast in 400 degree oven 1 hour. Add tomatoes. Roast 15 minutes until chicken is no longer pink. Arrange on platter and garnish with thyme sprigs. Serves 6

-- Carole Kotkin

Article first published in The Wine News

 

Food Editor Carole Kotkin is a Miami-based cooking instructor and consultant who co-authored Mmmmiami - Tempting Tropical Tastes for Home Cooks Everywhere. It provides clear, simple directions for 150 dishes, from the simple (good old Key Lime Pie) to the sublime (Coconut Mahi-Mahi with Passion Fruit Sauce). The wide array of flavors is especially wonderful and startling to those used to monocultural cooking; Miami cuisine is the product of many generations of interbreeding and hybrid vigor. Click on the link below for more details or to order.

Mmmmiami : Tempting Tropical Tastes for Cooks Everywhere