I popped in to see James and Ann at Brodie Estate because I needed to secure Ann’s recipe for curing olives. I’ve always wanted to give it a go and hers were particularly delicious. Brodie Estate offers a one-stop shop — you can taste the olive oils and the wine at the same time.
Directions
- Select olives you wish to cure. Discard any that are soft or blemished. Prick each olive with a sharp knife. Place in a container — stainless steel is best but food grade plastic is ok — and cover the olives with water. Weigh down the olives at the top so that they are completely submerged. Change the water each day for 25 days. At the end of this time, and if they are still bitter, continue to immerse and change the water until they are edible.
- Drain the olives and carefully check them, discarding any that are soft. Place in clean jars.
- Prepare a light brine solution of 6 Tbsp non-iodised salt to 16 cups water (adjust this to suit the amount of olives you have). Pour over the olives leaving 1½ cm at the top.
- Add your own combination of marinade ingredients. Ann uses peeled garlic cloves, sliced longways, and a selection of freshly ground coriander, cumin, chilli, whole cardamom pods, fennel seeds, peppercorns and sprigs of thyme, rosemary, oregano and bay leaves.
- Agitate to mix through the olives. Finally cover with New Zealand extra virgin olive oil (Ann uses Brodie Estate, of course) and seal. Label each jar with its particular marinade ingredients. They are ready to enjoy in a couple of weeks.
