Marinated Warm Olives {Quick and Easy}

Name: Marinated Warm Olives Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1½ cups mixed olives ((stone in) See Note 1); ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil; 2 cloves garlic (peeled and sliced); 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (or to taste); 1 fresh red chilli (optional); finely grated zest of 1 lemon; 2 tablespoons lemon juice

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Italian marinated warm olives are a delicious addition to an antipasto plate. You can make them yourself in just 10 minutes!!

Plus they are so easy to make yourself with this simple recipe.

white plate of assorted olives viewed from the front.

Table of Contents

1 Why you'll love this recipe
2 Ingredient notes
3 Instructions
4 Tips for success and FAQ's
5 More Italian appetisers.
6 Recipe
7 Marinated Warm Olives Recipe

Why you'll love this recipe

Olives are definitely a polarising food. You either love them or you hate them. If you fall into the first category you will love this recipe for marinating olives and you'll also love my Calabrese Pizza.

Easy make ahead appetisers are my favourite. It just makes life so much easier. Our Italian tradition is to serve antipasto before each feast and typically that would be Italian cured meats such as salami and prosciutto plus cheeses and marinated vegetables. While olives are delicious as they are, warming them with some aromatics brings out the flavour and makes these olives addictive!

This recipe is my adaption of Olive Siciliane Saltate from "My Taste of Sicily" by the Australian cook, Dominique Rizzo. Similarly, I think you will like my recipe for Marinated Eggplant which is also from the same cookbook.

These Italian marinated warm olives take olives to the next level. Even just a bowl of these olives would be perfect with a drink at the end of the day!

Ingredient notes

chilli, dried herbs, garlic, olive oil, lemon zest, zested lemon on a wooden board with olives, zested lemon and zester viewed from above.

Because this recipe is so simple and requires so few ingredients, it is important to choose the best quality possible. You will need:-

extra virgin olive oil which is fresh and fragrant.
fresh garlic.
lemons for juice and zest.
herbs - I use dried for convenience but be sure you replace your dried herbs regularly.
chilli
finally olives - be sure to buy good quality unpitted olives from a deli that has high turnover

Variations

Flavourings can be adjusted to suit your tastes:-

chilli is optional, use less or don't use at all
herbs can be substituted for fresh
herbs can be substituted - rosemary or thyme are also delicious

Additional flavourings to use:-

capers or caperberries
cumin seeds
coriander seeds
orange zest

Instructions

Preparing warm olives is super simple but there are a few things to keep in mind.

Heat the extra virgin olive oil gently.
Add garlic and herbs to warm oil.
Don't allow garlic to colour or brown at all.
Add olives and let them swim in the flavoured oil.
A little bit of lemon juice added at the end for a tangy finish.
Serve warm or at room temperature for optimal flavour.

Tips for success and FAQ's

white plate with assorted olives in olive oil and a spoon viewed from above.

This most important tips start when you are shopping for ingredients.

Buy unpitted olives. Unpitted olives have all the flavour. I like to buy from my local Italian deli and choose a variety of green and black olives.
Choose good quality extra virgin olive oil.
Dried herbs become stale quickly so replace dried herbs regularly.

Then when preparing

Warm olives gently. Be sure not to turn the heat up too much or the garlic and herbs will burn.
Check the chilli by tasting because the heat factor can vary greatly.
Add lemon juice at the end to ensure tangy freshness.

Finally serve with a small bowl for stones.

How to store warm olives and for how long.

This recipe wonderful because it can be made ahead of time for easy entertaining. These olives will keep quite well for at least two weeks in the refrigerator and possibly longer and the flavour will intensify. For optimal flavour remember to bring the olives to room temperature or warm gently in a pan before serving.
It is normal for the olive oil to solidify in the fridge. When at room temperature the olive oil will return to liquid with no change to the flavour or texture.

More Italian appetisers.

Italian appetisers are generally simple with few ingredients and mostly easy to make ahead. As well as my Bagna Cauda here are some other recipes you might like to try. Just click on to the name to be taken right to the recipe.

Recipe

Marinated Warm Olives Recipe

Italian marinated warm olives are a delicious addition to an antipasto plate. This is an easy recipe that can be made in advance.

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 5

Total Time: 10

Servings:4 servings as antipasto

Author: Marcellina

Ingredients

▢ 1½ cups mixed olives (stone in) See Note 1
▢ ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
▢ 2 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
▢ 1 teaspoon fennel seeds or to taste
▢ 1 fresh red chilli optional
▢ finely grated zest of 1 lemon
▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

Pour olive oil into a small frying pan and place over a gently heat.
Immediately add garlic, fennel seeds, dried oregano, chilli and lemon zest.
Stir to combine and heat for 1 minute or until becoming aromatic. Don’t allow to heat too much. The garlic at no time should brown.
Add the olives and heat, stirring and coating the olives in the fragrant oil for 3 minutes or until completely heated through.
Add the lemon juice and simmer for 30 seconds.
Serve warm olives with crusty bread.

Notes

Olives with pits usually taste better than their pitted counterparts. But use what you prefer - the marinade is what counts in this recipe.

Variations

Flavourings can be adjusted to suit your tastes:-

chilli is optional, use less or don't use at all
herbs can be substituted for fresh
herbs can be substitued - rosemary or thyme are also delicious

Additional flavourings to use:-

capers or caperberries
cumin seeds
coriander seeds
orange zest

Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating and leave a comment below!

Nutritional Estimate Per Serving

Nutritional Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. For accurate results, it is recommended that the nutritional information be calculated based on the ingredients and brands you use.

Marinated Warm Olives

Why you'll love this recipe