I pitted the poor olive

Where oh where would I be without this gadget? Like podding peas,there is something so reassuring and therapeutic about pitting your own olives, as opposed to buying a jar of the pre-pitted variety. When you purchase olives in the market they are ladled out of tins or  lovely ceramic bowls into plastic bags and then some of their brine is also ladled into the bag to preserve the flavour. At home one can then, with the help of this faithful work mate remove the stones and either make a marinade for them or add them to a salad or a cooked dish.Marinated olives are a popular Iberian snack and petisco. They make a great addition to any Portuguese  Spanish,or Moroccan meal.

North African Mslalla
Use oil-cured black olives with lemon juice.Stir in cumin seeds, coriander seeds, lemon and orange zest and crushed chilli flakes.


Aceitunas aliñadas Espanol
Use paprika, cumin seeds and peppercorns. 
If you like you can use all green or all black olives.

These are some of the more poular herbs and seasonings you can mix with marinated olives.Mix and match to suit your own taste.

• Bay leaves
• Cardamom seed
• Cracked black pepper
• Crushed red chilli
• Cumin seed
• Fennel seed
• Lavender
• Lemon, lime or orange zest
• Oregano
• Paprika
• Rosemary
• Parsley
• Sun-dried tomatoes
• Thyme 
• Do not used canned olives for this recipe! (Unless you have no shame.)
• Marinated olives will stay fresh for 1-2 months if stored in the refrigerator.