Olives occupy an important place in the national cuisine of many countries, and, regardless of taste preferences regarding the fruits themselves, we all use olive oil or products with olive oil in their composition in one way or another. In fact, olives can decorate and enrich many dishes, giving them a fresh and savory touch.
pinterest.com
Olives are a gift of Mediterranean cuisine that has successfully spread throughout the world. They are used both to decorate dishes and as a complete and indispensable component. A wide selection of varieties, sizes and methods of preparation of olives makes it possible to experiment with recipes and the capabilities of this unique fruit.
pinterest.com
Smaller olives are most often added to cold appetizers and salads; medium - for pizza or pasta; large ones are used for stuffing. Black olives or, more simply, olives perfectly complement the taste of meat dishes and game (often as part of vegetable pastes and sauces), green ones go well with cold seafood dishes. In addition, olives can always be served as an independent snack, regardless of their variety, color or size.
Salad with cheese and olives
A bright and light salad that is great for snacking.
You will need:
200 g spinach, 200 g feta, 150 g olives, 200 g cherry tomatoes, 5 g chili, 3 tbsp.
olive oil, 1 tbsp. wine vinegar, salt, pepper. Preparation:
Place washed and dried spinach leaves on the bottom of the bowl. Tear them with your hands first. Cut the tomatoes into halves, the cheese into cubes and add everything to the spinach. Add olives to the salad, season with spices, oil and vinegar.
Olives - delicious medicine
Olives of all colors are equally healthy. They are rich in antioxidants, unsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, proteins, phosphorus and iron. It does not matter where olives are grown - in Greece, Israel or Iran. Olive oil is one of the most valuable products on the planet, as it strengthens the heart and blood vessels, successfully fights diabetes, oncology, heart attack and stroke. The greatest benefits are found in unrefined, cold-pressed oil, which Adam appreciated in the Old Testament. It was this tree that God gave to Adam so that he could squeeze oil out of the fruit and be healed of illnesses.
Olives are beneficial for both men and women. In representatives of the stronger half of humanity, sperm quality improves and testosterone levels increase. For women, the fruits of the olive tree act like rejuvenating apples, improving the condition of the skin, hair, nails and increasing the ability to conceive.
Dried olives are very useful. They are dried in the sun, so they retain all the vitamins and do not contain preservatives.
Salad with shrimp, olives and cheese
Subtle, delicate taste of seafood and citrus!
You will need:
300 g shrimp, 150 g feta, 8 cherry tomatoes, a handful of olives, vegetable oil, half a lime, 1-2 bay leaves, Provençal herbs.
Preparation:
Boil shrimp with salt and bay leaf for 5-7 minutes. Drain in a colander, peel and place in a bowl. Cut feta into cubes and tomatoes into halves. Add olives, season everything with lime juice, oil and spices.
Salad with chicken and olives
An ideal salad option for a light dinner or lunch.
You will need:
300 g chicken breast, 2 green apples, 2 cucumbers, crushed olives, sour cream or yogurt, black pepper, salt.
Preparation:
Boil the breast and cut into cubes. Bake the apples in the oven and cut them the same way. Add chopped cucumber, olives and season everything with sour cream, salt and pepper.
In what form are olives eaten?
Freshly picked olives are almost impossible to eat - they are too bitter. In order to give them an edible taste, the fruits are soaked in salt water, in which they ferment for several months to a year. Black olives are also dried and dried; with this method of processing, the maximum of useful substances is preserved. Dried ones are sold in jars or plastic bags, sometimes with the addition of oil. They are bitter, so they are not for everyone. Dried olives are usually lightly pickled, which means they have a softer taste, and always have a pit. By the way, in Greece, olives stuffed with bell peppers, shrimp, almonds, and garlic are considered a special delicacy. There they are stuffed by hand, which significantly increases their cost. You can also find this delicacy in domestic stores. Our market comes mainly from canned olives. If they are natural and of good quality, then we can safely talk about their usefulness. But if the fruits represent the “achievements” of the chemical industry, then the body can be replenished with another preservative rather than with any vitamin. And this is what we are talking about! Very often, manufacturers, wanting to reduce the cost of the final product and speed up the entire process of ridding olives of bitterness, add caustic soda or sodium hydroxide (E 524) to green olives instead of salt and water. With it, the fruits do not need to be soaked for a year, the bitterness goes away much faster. However, green olives made the traditional way are a fermented product, like sauerkraut. Of course, they will be healthier, juicier, and tastier than using the accelerated alkaline method.
Salad with olives, shrimp and basil
Delicious seafood, vegetables and herbs. What could be better?
You will need:
300 g large shrimp, 3 yellow tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 150 g olives, a bunch of green basil, 2 cloves of garlic, oil, spices.
Preparation:
Bake peeled shrimp in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Place them in a bowl and add coarsely chopped tomatoes and cucumber. Add olives, chop basil and garlic. Season the salad with oil and spices.
20 simple and most delicious salads with prunes
Calorie content and chemical composition
Olives come to us in pickled form, so let’s look at the characteristics of the chemical composition and vitamin reserves of just such fruits of the crop.
100 grams of olive fruits will provide the human body with 145 kilocalories . The supply of protein in the same 100 grams is 1 g, fat - 15.3 g, carbohydrates - 0.8 g. 75.3 g is water. This product is one of the largest sources of vitamins.
100 grams contain:
- beta carotene (A) - 0.231 mcg;
- thiamine (B1) - 0.021 mg;
- riboflavin (B2) - 0.007 mg;
- niacin (B3, PP) - 0.237 mg;
- pantothenic acid (B5) - 0.025 mg;
- pyridoxine (B6) - 0.031 mg;
- folic acid (B9) - 3 mcg;
- tocopherol (E) - 3.81 mg;
- phylloquinone (K) - 1.4 μg;
- choline (B4) - 14.2 mg.
Important! The presence of oleic acid (Omega-9) in olives makes them the main enemy of cholesterol.
Exotic fruits are rich in macro- and microelements: potassium (42 mg), calcium (52 mg), magnesium (11 mg), sodium (1556 mg), phosphorus (4 mg). Among the trace elements, canned olives contain reserves of iron (0.49 mg), copper (120 mcg), selenium (0.9 mcg), and zinc (40 mcg). 3.3 g of the product consists of dietary fiber (fiber).
Salad with croutons, cheese and olives
Choose cheese with a rich flavor, it will add more piquancy to the salad.
You will need:
1 bunch of romaine lettuce, 100 g hard cheese, 150 g olives, white bread croutons, 1 tbsp.
honey, 2 tbsp. lime juice, oil, salt. Preparation:
Tear the romaine with your hands and place in bowls. Grate the cheese, add olives and croutons. Prepare a dressing of oil, honey, lime, salt and top the salad.
Mediterranean pizza
Ingredients
- Bread flatbread – 1 piece
- Tomato paste – 2 tbsp.
- Garlic – 2 cloves
- Dry basil – 2 tbsp.
- Mixture of Italian herbs – 2 tbsp.
- Olives – 5-6 large, thinly sliced
- Red onion – 1/2 onion
- Cucumber – 1 pc.
- Cashews – 2 tbsp.
- Sweet pepper – 1/2 pcs
- Salt, lemon juice, pepper - to taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven. Prepare a sauce from tomato paste, lemon juice and all the spices, then place the flatbread on a baking sheet and spread it carefully, leaving a 1 cm edge. Place cucumbers, olives, peppers, onions and chopped cashew nuts on top. Bake for 12 minutes and voila! All is ready!
Bulgarian salad with olives
Vitamin-packed and fresh, as if straight from the garden!
You will need:
100 g bell pepper, 2 tomatoes, 2 cucumbers, half an onion, a bunch of parsley, 70 g cheese, 100 g olives, 1 tbsp.
apple cider vinegar, oil, spices. Preparation:
Cut the peppers, tomatoes, cheese and cucumbers into fairly large slices, and the onion into rings. Add olives and season everything with oil, spices and vinegar.
Another Greek salad!
Olives are ideal for salads, and the leader here is undoubtedly the Greek salad. There are many ways to prepare it. We offer a variation of this popular salad on the “green” theme.
As the name suggests, only green vegetables are used as ingredients: green bell pepper, fresh cucumber, onion feathers. All vegetables are cut into cubes and mixed with green olives. In addition to salt and pepper, the dressing for the salad will be olive oil - you can add lemon juice to it. The finished salad is sprinkled with pieces of feta cheese.
Salad with cucumber, olives and sour cream
A fresh and quite filling salad that can be easily prepared in 15 minutes while the eggs are boiling.
You will need:
3 eggs, 2 cucumbers, 200 g of hard cheese, 150 g of olives, sour cream, herbs, spices.
Preparation:
Boil the eggs hard and grate them together with the cheese. Cut the cucumbers into cubes, add olives, herbs and season everything with sour cream and spices.
How to store at home
Purchased olives in original packaging can be stored until the expiration date indicated on the container. Once opened, the storage lines are no more than one week. A prerequisite is that the fruits must be in brine, otherwise they will be unfit for consumption. Stuffed olives are not recommended to be stored; they must be consumed after opening the container.
Did you know? Olive trees are evergreen plants that live on average 200-300 years, but there are also trees that are over two thousand years old and even bear fruit.
Vegetable salad with avocado and olives
Choose a soft avocado - the taste of a salad with such a fruit will be creamy, with hints of nuts!
You will need:
1 avocado, 1 bunch of lettuce, 1 cucumber, 0.5 red onion, 100 g olives, 50 g black olives, oil and spices.
Preparation:
Cut the avocado into slices, cucumber and onion into slices, tear the green leaves with your hands. Add olives and black olives, season everything with oil and spices.
15 best shrimp and squid salad recipes
Salad with sun-dried tomatoes and olives
A simple Italian salad at home.
You will need:
400 g feta, a bunch of arugula, 100 g basil, 200 g sun-dried cherry tomatoes, 150 g olives, 2 cloves garlic, 5 g chili, 3 tbsp.
wine vinegar, 4 tbsp. olive oil, Provençal herbs, salt, pepper. Preparation:
Prepare a marinade from finely chopped chili, garlic, vinegar, oil, and spices. Cut the feta into cubes, cherry tomatoes into quarters, tear the greens with your hands, add olives. Toss salad with dressing.
Crab salad with olives
Olives will complement the taste of the usual salad with crab sticks in a new way!
You will need:
300 g crab meat or sticks, 100 g hard cheese, 3 eggs, 1 cucumber, half an onion, a jar of pitted olives, mayonnaise, a sprig of parsley.
Preparation:
Boil the eggs hard and grate them. Finely chop the vegetables and olives, and the crab meat into cubes. Season everything with mayonnaise and garnish with herbs.
Amazing things about olives
It seems that we know everything about olives, but then new interesting facts inevitably emerge. This makes us once again marvel at the diversity and ingenuity of nature.
Did you know that olives are similar in size to berries, in structure they can be classified as fruits, and in taste they can be classified as vegetables? However, botanically they belong to the olive family. However, it is not so important what to call these fruits, because this will not make them any less tasty or healthy.
Not everyone realizes that olive pits contain a high concentration of nutrients, vitamins and microelements. But since it is impossible to eat them in the usual way, it is recommended to grind the seeds in a coffee grinder and take them as medicine. They contain large amounts of fatty acids, minerals, vitamin E, proteins and carbohydrates. Surprisingly, the seeds contain even more benefits than the pulp of the fruit!
Salad with beef, spinach and olives
Probably the most satisfying recipe in this collection!
You will need:
400 g of beef, 2 tomatoes, 2 potatoes, 1 onion, 10 olives, a bunch of spinach, half a lemon, 100 g of mayonnaise, salt, pepper.
Preparation:
Fry the beef and onion cut into strips until golden brown. Place meat, onions, boiled and diced potatoes, and tomatoes in a bowl. Tear the spinach with your hands and add the olives. Season the salad with mayonnaise, juice of half a lemon and spices.
Salad with eggs, olives and arugula
Lime juice does not give the usual acidity like lemon, but it perfectly refreshes any dish.
You will need:
2 eggs, a bunch of arugula, 10 olives, a handful of nuts to taste, olive oil, half a lime, spices.
Preparation:
Boil the eggs hard. Place coarsely chopped arugula, quartered eggs, olives, and sprinkle with nuts. Drizzle the salad with oil, lime juice and spices.
20 salads with smoked sausage that will decorate any table
Olives from Athena
According to ancient Greek myths, the history of olives began from the moment when the goddess Athena presented people with an olive as a gift. The fruits of this tree became a symbol of happiness and prosperity for ancient people. Subsequently, olive trees began to be grown in Ancient Rome. In the 1st century BC, the Romans conquered almost the entire Mediterranean and planted olive trees everywhere. So gradually healthy olives spread throughout Europe and the whole world.
In which countries do olives grow? There are olive groves in Southern Europe, North Africa, South and North America, Asia and Australia. But the leaders in olive production are four countries - Greece, Italy, Spain and Turkey. Olives are grown in small quantities in France, Morocco, Portugal and Tunisia. The most prolific country for olives is Spain, but gourmets around the world unanimously recognize sunny Italy as the country of olives.
Apple salad with celery and olives
The nut butter in this salad adds a special flavor to each ingredient.
You will need:
3 stalks of celery, 2 apples, 100 g olives, 100 g blue cheese, a handful of walnuts, pistachio oil, spices.
Preparation:
Cut celery stalks 1-2 cm long, olives into halves, apples and cheese into cubes. Combine all the ingredients, decorate the salad with nuts and season with oil and spices.
Eggplant salad with olives
Tasty, fast and quite original!
You will need:
2 eggplants, 150 g olives, 2 bell peppers, a clove of garlic, 10 g cilantro, 1 tbsp.
wine vinegar, 30 ml. olive oil, half a teaspoon of sugar, pepper, salt. Preparation:
Cut the eggplants into rings, add salt and leave for 20 minutes. Fry them in a grill pan or bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Cut the olives in half, peppers into strips, chop the garlic and cilantro. Mix all ingredients and season.
Olive bread
Ingredients
- Flour – 450 g
- Yeast – 20 g
- Olive oil – 4 tbsp.
- Salt - to taste
- Water – 220 ml
- Chopped olives – 160 g
Instructions
Mix water and yeast, leave for a couple of minutes, then mix well and pour into flour mixed with salt. Add olive oil and olives, knead the dough, knead it until it becomes soft and elastic, and then leave it in a warm place for 2-3 hours to rise. After this, take out the dough, divide it into 4 parts, roll each of them into a long sausage and twist two of them together to make a braid closed in a circle. Place on a baking sheet, cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Lubricate each braid with olive oil, sprinkle with olives and place in the oven for half an hour.
