Sicilian baked black olives, grandma’s recipe for making baked olives the traditional way. Have you ever tasted baked black olives? If you haven’t, you absolutely must try making baked black olives at home: like the “olive scacciate” they belong to the culinary tradition of southern Italy, particularly Sicily and Apulia. I remember that when I was a child, black olives were an essential ingredient for outings and picnics; my grandfather loved them, so when we went shopping my mother or grandmother would always buy a nice pack. I also recall that during the olive harvest a basket of those ripe black olives was always reserved for preparing the baked olives. In reality, making baked black olives is really very easy — you just need a little patience so the salt, essential to the process, can do its job and the olives lose their bitter taste, becoming delicious. Sicilian-style baked black olives are a humble traditional dish, tied to the life of the peasants who worked the fields and who would serve them at mealtime with cheese, wine and homemade bread, like “cucciddato (semolina bread)“. Today, as our tables are much richer, black olives are a pleasant little treat, a pleasure we don’t deny ourselves — and since the olive harvest is not far from Christmas, prepare these black olives for your holiday table and you’ll see they’ll be enjoyed by everyone, even your vegan friends! Let’s go to the kitchen then and discover together the recipe for Sicilian baked black olives — but first I remind you that if you want to stay updated on new recipes you can follow my Facebook page and my Instagram profile.

Also check out:
Mediterranean-style pan-fried chicken with black olives and sun-dried tomatoes;
Semolina bread with olives;

Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Very inexpensive
Rest time: 10 Days
Preparation time: 15 Minutes
Cooking time: 5 Minutes
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

2.2 lb black olives (freshly harvested)
1.1 lb salt (I prefer fine salt)
to taste parsley
to taste extra virgin olive oil
1 chili pepper

Preparation

Once you’ve picked ripe but not soft black olives, wash them well. To speed up the drainage of the bitter olive sap, prick the olives with a toothpick, making two or three small holes scattered over each fruit. Place the olives in a large bowl and cover them with the salt. Let them rest for about ten days, stirring once a day. Soon the olives will begin to release their liquids and the salt will become wet; this way they will gradually lose their bitterness. Remove the excess liquid that collects at the bottom of the bowl.
If this process is slow to start, place them in a colander and put a weight on top (a plate with a bottle works well), with a container underneath to collect the liquid.
The olives will be ready when after 10-15 days they appear shriveled, are no longer bitter and the flesh is slightly creamy.
When they’re ready, rinse them, bring a pot of water to a boil and, once boiling, immerse the olives and let them boil for about three minutes — this step will make them less salty.
Drain them immediately and place them in the oven at 392°F to dry for about 5 minutes. You should not cook them, only dry them, so be careful not to overdo it.
Let the olives cool and dress them with plenty of extra virgin olive oil, fresh chili if you like, and parsley. My children also eat these olives, so I omitted the chili, even though it is part of the original recipe.
Serve them at room temperature, perhaps accompanied by rustic bread, cheese and wine!
Stored in the fridge already seasoned like this, they will keep for at least a month. If you want a longer shelf life, after baking but once cold, put them in the freezer and season them as needed.