Easy Marinated Spanish Olives with Manchego
This quick-and-easy recipe is one of my favorites for summer snacking, festive holidays, and everything in between! These marinated Spanish olives have herb and citrus-infused oil and tangy manchego cheese for a salty, savory, and flavorful appetizer. Save this recipe for a tapas night at home or anytime you need something simple and delicious!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup good-quality olive oil (120 milliliters)
- 6 medium cloves of garlic, gently smashed
- 1 small orange rind only
- 1 lemon rind only
- 3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 1 small bay leaf
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes more to taste
- 16 ounces pitted Manzanilla olives (450 grams)
- 8 ounces manchego cheese (225 grams)
- 1/4 cup sherry vinegar (60 milliliters)
Equipment
- Colander
Instructions
- In a large skillet, combine the olive oil, garlic cloves, orange rind, lemon rind, rosemary sprigs, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes. Place the pan on the stove over the lowest heat.
- Gently heat the oil on the stove for 5-7 minutes, or until it smells very fragrant. Don't let it come to a simmer, you just want to infuse the oil. Remove the pan from the heat, and let the oil cool completely at room temperature.
- While the oil is cooling, drain the olives in a colander. Transfer the drained olives to a large bowl.
- Then, use clean hands to break the manchego cheese into shards. (The craggy edges pick up more infused oil!) Alternatively, you can slice the manchego into small cubes. Add the cheese to the bowl of olives.
- Once the oil is completely cool, pour it over the olive-cheese mixture. Add the sherry vinegar, and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate the olives for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight. If the oil solidifies in the fridge, let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes, stir well, and serve.
Notes
Manzanilla olives are the easiest Spanish olives to find, but feel free to use any olive that you like. Try Gordal, Hojiblanca, or Arbequina, or a mix of multiple kinds.
If you want the olives to soak up even more oil, you can gently smash them with the palms of your hands. But don't smash too hard, you don't want them to fall apart!
This recipe is not set-in-stone, so feel free to mix up the flavorings, depending on what you like/have on hand. You can pretty much use any herbs/citrus/etc. that you like. :)
The longer you let the olives marinate, the more flavorful they will be. I like to make this recipe the night before I plan on serving it.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 162kcal, Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 15mg, Sodium: 528mg, Potassium: 13mg, Fiber: 1g, Calcium: 166mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @sundaytable.co on Instagram!