Herb-Marinated Olives with Citrus and Thyme Recipe

What Is Herb-Marinated Olives with Citrus and Thyme?

Warming oil with garlic and herbs before pouring it over olives is a Mediterranean shortcut for turning a jar of plain olives into something worth serving on its own. This version steeps green and black olives in thyme, bay leaf and orange and lemon zest, and it only gets better the longer it sits. Olives, their oil, garlic and citrus zest each carry their own anti-inflammatory compounds.

What Makes This Recipe Anti-Inflammatory?

Both the green and black olives here carry oleic acid plus the polyphenols oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol, compounds that turn up again and again in research on olive-rich diets. The extra olive oil in the marinade adds more of the same fats plus oleocanthal, the compound behind the peppery bite good olive oil leaves at the back of the throat.

Fresh thyme contributes thymol, and the sliced garlic brings its organosulfur compounds along for the ride. Orange and lemon zest add the fruit’s aromatic oils and flavonoids without the sugar that comes with the juice, which is why zest works so well in a marinade meant to sit for days.

Every ingredient is compliant with the AIP elimination phase. There are no grains, legumes, nightshades, dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds or seed-based spices, and the olives called for are plain ones in brine rather than stuffed, since stuffed olives are almost always packed with pimento, a nightshade.

Ingredients

• 2 cups mixed green and black olives, plain in brine, drained
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Directions

Step 1

Warm the olive oil in a small pan over low heat with the garlic, thyme and bay leaf, about 4 to 5 minutes, until the garlic turns fragrant without taking on any color. Gentle heat is the whole technique here: it coaxes the flavor into the oil, while browned garlic turns bitter and carries that bitterness through every olive over the following hours.

Step 2

Take the pan off the heat and stir in the orange and lemon zest right away. Zest added to hot oil loses its perfume within seconds, so wait until the pan is off the burner.

Step 3

Pour the warm oil, garlic, thyme, bay leaf and zest over the drained olives in a jar or bowl and toss well. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or refrigerate it overnight for a deeper marinade.

Step 4

Always bring the olives back to room temperature before serving. Chilled olive oil clouds and solidifies, and the flavors go quiet with cold, so a jar straight from the fridge tastes flatter. Stored in their oil, the olives keep for 2 weeks refrigerated and improve over the first few days as the garlic and herbs settle in.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

InflammaScore

1 Good! Very low inflammation potential

Q&A

Q1: Is this recipe suitable for the AIP elimination phase?
A1: Yes, as long as the olives are plain ones in brine. Stuffed olives usually carry pimento, a nightshade, and pre-seasoned olives often list “spices” on the label without naming them, which cannot be verified. Buy plain green and black olives in brine and check the label first.

Q2: Which olives work best for this?
A2: Any plain olives in brine will do. Kalamata, Castelvetrano and plain green Manzanilla all work well, and a mix of two or three kinds gives the jar more texture than a single type on its own.

Q3: The label says “spices” or the olives come stuffed. Are they still fine?
A3: No. An unnamed “spices” blend cannot be verified, and pimento stuffing is a nightshade pepper, so both are off the table here. Plain olives in brine, nothing else on the label, is the rule to shop by.

Q4: How long do these keep, and does the cloudy oil mean they went bad?
A4: They keep for 2 weeks in the fridge, stored in their own oil. The clouding straight out of the fridge is just the olive oil solidifying in the cold, and it clears back to liquid within minutes at room temperature.

Q5: What do I serve these with?
A5: They work well on a snack board next to cucumber rounds and carrot sticks, or spooned over roasted chicken or fish with a little of their oil. Either way, let them come back to room temperature first.