The Canny Lass

When my daughter was little, she was an olive nut. She couldn’t get enough of them and would eat them at every chance. I love an olive too. The green ones stuffed with garlic cloves are my favourite, but I don’t mind the black ones too.

The only thing about olives is this: if you don’t have an olive lover in the house, jars or cans of olives often don’t get used up and end up in the bin.

So, to help you tackle this issue, I’ve pulled together a quick list of delicious ways you can use them up. You are welcome!

So, let’s start with everyone’s favourite Mediterranean paste, and that is Tapenade.

Tapenade

Throw olives, capers, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice into a blender and blend into a delicious tapenade to eat with bread or in pasta. Here’s a lovely tapenade recipe courtesy of James Martin and the BBC.

Olive Pasta

Slice olives and mix them through a pasta dish along with olive oil, garlic, anchovies and a little Parmesan cheese. Yum. Alternatively, you can do them this way.

Olive Salad

Olives are delicious made into a salad. Mix sliced olives with diced cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion and small cubes of Feta cheese for a quick and delicious salad.

Olive Pizza

If you have ever been to Italy, you’ll know the Italians love to add olives to pizza. All you do is spread some chopped tinned tomatoes on top of your pizza base. Cover with grated cheese and add your olives and other toppings including pepperoni, ham, chicken or veggies. Yum. Here’s a link to some great pizza recipes.

Olive Bread

I love olives in bread. They are so delicious and make the bread that little bit more special. All you do is get your favourite bread recipe, make it up and then mix chopped olives into the dough before baking. This recipe uses olives and sundried tomatoes.

Chicken with OIives

Who doesn’t love chicken with olives? It’s another classic Mediterranean dish. This recipe will tell you everything you need to know.

Roasted Olives

Here’s one I’ve not tried yet, but it sounds amazing. Roast olives with garlic, rosemary and a drizzle of oil for a delicious appetizer.

Olive Hummous

Blend olives into your favourite hummous for a lovely topping to bread. Add extra lemon juice and olive oil to balance out the flavours. Or you could just try this recipe.

Stuffed Olives

Buy large olives and stuff them with garlic (yum), almonds (yum) or small cubes of your favourite cheese (Heaven on a plate!). These make great snacks that are healthy and delicious.

Olive Quiche

Make quiche with a difference by incorporating olives into the filling along with spinach, feta, and sun-dried tomatoes for a savory dish. Here’s a delicious recipe for a summer quiche.

Have you got any ideas for using up olives? Drop me a message!