Easy spicy olives

Easy spicy olives can be prepared in just ten minutes.

Olives and their oil have an important role to play in our dietary regime; one way or another they should be on the salad platter every day. Whilst there is much argument between scientists about good and bad fats, everyone agrees that the fruit mono-unsaturated lipids are top notch; avocados too.

There are two ways to enjoy them; each has his or her own preference. I like olives before they have been pickled in vinegar.

Some folk would add garlic but for no good reason I am not partial to it in olives; I would rather have it in the hummus or one of the other Mediterranean side-dishes.

Olives are very high in salt^[4]. I know because I pickle them myself^[1]. If you eat out a lot then I recommend you soak them first, otherwise it doesn't really matter.

• The salt versus potassium blood pressure debate
  

Never use preserved lemon-juice by the way. It is simply awful; rather go without.

The traditional Greek way would be to mop up the remaining oil on your plate with bread. We can learn from the Blue Zone people on the island of Ikaría where they use only sourdough made mainly with unrefined wholemeal flour^[2]. Living to a zesty and vigorous ninety-plus is the norm.

• Blue Zone longevity
  

Did you know that with a little practice and a bread-machine you can prepare the dough in less than ten minutes? Then of course you have to wait patiently for five hours for the most divine loaf in the world.

We stumbled on this interesting way to make a sourdough loaf; using kefir^[3] to ferment the bread.

There is an amazing synergy of green living once you get into this alternate lifestyle; who would ever have thought of using a probiotic to provide the yeast and bacteria to ferment your dough?

Fennel in flower behind the kale

There will almost certainly be some of the spicy-oil left over; simply add more olives and warm the whole lot up again. Unless your guests adored your artisan bread and mopped up all the juice.

Fennel incidentally is not a difficult vegetable to grow; allow some of it to go to flower and then you will have plenty of seeds. There is one difficulty; the moles love it even more than we do so we plant it in the bags that citrus is often sold in.

• Fennel and radish salad
  

Pitting olives

Do warn your guests about the pits; they have broken many a tooth of those not accustomed to enjoying olives the right way.

You may want to give a little demonstration on how to pit olives if some are anxious; really it's just about mindfulness and taking time to savour our meals. So often we shovel our food down, completely unaware of the subtle flavours; and chewing everything thoroughly.

• Chew your food thoroughly
  

What is emulsifier in food?

When purchasing dishes with olive oil make sure there is some floating on the top. Manufacturers love to add chemicals to their products. Emulsifiers in food have been strongly associated with malignant  breast and prostate tumours.

Hummus with olive oil floating at the surface

Easy spicy olives

Easy spicy olives need just fennel seeds and bay leaves to make up a delicious side-dish to go with any green salad or cheese platter.

Ten percent

Roughly 10% of olives are enjoyed as the whole fruit; the rest of them are cold-pressed into oil.

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