Olives are a staple in the Mediterranean diet. They boast various health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke! However, as with every ingredient, the type of olive you choose matters. Here are a few tips to help you pick the best olives.
According to an article in National Geographic, "Black olives, though labeled as ‘ripe’ on supermarket cans, actually aren’t: these are a California invention; they are green olives that have been cured in an alkaline solution, and then treated with oxygen and an iron compound (ferrous gluconate) that turns their skins a shiny patent-leather black.”
If you want to find a fresher, more flavorful option, let’s go shopping!
Although many supermarkets have olive bars, I question the origin and the open-air storage of the olives. Instead, try online stores that offer olives sourced from producers around the world, packed at their peak flavor — olives that might spoil you for anything else!
You can find many excellent options online, and Barral is my favorite!
BARRAL S.A. has been a family-owned and managed company since 1883. They are based in the industrial estate of Carros, near Nice on the French Riviera. Barral offers a wide range of olives and is worth exploring for stocking your pantry.
The ingredients are simple. For example, in these cured black olives, you'll find olives, salt, olive oil, and herbes de Provence.
Barral olives are the next best thing to fresh from a French farmer's market.
You can learn about Barral products here.
The next time you’re looking for a meal that is fast and simple to prepare, just a few olives is a delightful way to start.
Follow them with a green salad or other simple salad, then bruschetta or tartines made with whatever ingredients are on hand, and finish with a piece of chocolate.
Barral lacquer olives, bruschetta with leftover tomato sauce, and dried sausage — a few leftovers are always good enough for dinner!
Tartines with pesto, camembert, and prosciutto.
Michel Cluizel chocolate and clementines
This four-course meal comes together easily but still offers a lot of taste in a sophisticated style.
There is always a jar of Barral black olives in my pantry — a must-have ingredient for pasta puttanesca.
Even if you don’t care for olives, you might change your mind when you try them at their freshest.
A few Barral olives, melon, and Iberico ham for apéritif.
If you love them, you’ll appreciate how just a few fresh olives, with layers of robust flavor, add the perfect finishing touch and elevate a simple dish.
Potatoes baked with Barral Black Cured Olives in Herbs de Provence and Lucques Olives
Orange Salad with Barral Black Cured Olives in Herbs de Provence and Shallot Vinaigrette.
A lovely salad — and first course idea — inspired by my sister-in-law Danick.
I created this post in the recipe format so you can save it right to the Paprika recipe. Then you can keep shopping links and serving ideas right to your app!
To do so, copy the link to this post, open Paprika, and hit save — et voila! Then you can save it to a category you name "Ingredients," and your ideas are saved when you need them.
If you don't have the Paprika app yet, you can learn more here.
It's all in the Return to The Table app!
