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Marinated Olives, Feta and Lemon

  • January 14, 2023

I ate this marinated feta, olives and lemon appetizer at a party recently and loved it so much I had to move myself away from the dish. A quick search online turned up this recipe from Bon Appetit magazine and it was even better than what I remembered eating at the party. That might be because rather than use regular lemons, I used a preserved lemon that I had made from my meager harvest of lemons from the indoor lemon tree I have nurtured for years (they were huge though). If you’ve never made preserved lemons, they’re a cinch to make with just kosher salt and lemons. The flavor is so much better than regular lemons, for recipes like this one. I’m looking forward to using them in more savory and even sweet dishes. You should give it a try. They keep forever in the fridge once they’re “cured.” There are many recipes online, but I used this recipe from Serious Eats, that also adds a bit of sugar.

 But even if you don’t have preserved lemons (they’re also available to purchase online and in some specialty stores), you can use regular lemons from the store. The recipe comes together in a snap. Just heat the olives, garlic, lemon peel and hot pepper flakes in olive oil for about five minutes and pour over some crumbled feta cheese.

The recipe from Bon Appetit called for heating the bread in the oven for a bit, but I found that it’s much better just to use fresh bread, untoasted. It will be much easier to soak up the juices and to pick up the olives and feta when the bread is soft, rather than toasted and hard. Dig in and you may find yourself doubling the recipe the next time you’re invited to bring an appetizer somewhere.

Check out Ciao Chow Linda on Instagram here to find out what’s cooking in my kitchen each day (and more).

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Marinated Olives, Feta and Lemon
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 5 ounces drained Castelvetrano, Cerignola, or other unpitted green olives
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 preserved lemon, use only the peel, not the flesh (A regular lemon is fine)
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ⅓ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 7 ounces feta
  • Crusty bread (for serving)
Instructions
  1. Crush the olives and garlic partially on a board, using your palm or the flat end of a knife.
  2. Place the olive oil in a pan and add the olives, garlic cloves, lemon peel and red pepper flakes.
  3. Cook on low heat for about five minutes until the garlic starts to brown a bit.
  4. Remove from heat and extract the gaarlic from the pan.
  5. Let it cool slightly.
  6. Crumble the feta into a serving bowl.
  7. Pour the olive oil mixture over the olive mixture and stir to combine.
  8. Serve with torn pieces of bread.
 

Lamb Tagine

  • February 17, 2015

Here in the Northeast U.S., we’re in the throes of an arctic chill. The kind that makes you wish you were lounging somewhere in the Caribbean until April. 

A girl can dream, can’t she?.
In the event that’s not in the cards for you either, here’s the next best thing – a rich tagine made with lamb, figs, olives and preserved lemons.
Tagine is a North African stew-type dish named for the conical, earthenware container in which it’s typically cooked. It can be made with lamb, chicken, beef, or with vegetables only. And since I had half a lamb sitting in my freezer that I bought from someone I met at a dinner party a couple of months ago, lamb tagine was in the cards.
Don’t fret if you don’t have a tagine pot – any kind of heavy, covered pot, like a Dutch oven will work.
But make sure NOT to skip the preserved lemons if they’re not available at your local supermarket. You can buy them online or in stores that sell Middle Eastern groceries, but you can make them yourself too. These were a homemade gift from Kay, one of my book club members, and I finally got around to using them recently. Kay used a recipe from Simply Recipes that you can find here.
The first time I made this, I served it with fregola, a grain commonly eaten in Sardinia. It’s similar to Israeli couscous, but nuttier tasting because it’s toasted. According to Wikipedia, Genovese immigrants who lived in Tunisia first imported the grain to Italy.
The next time I made it with potatoes boiled and tossed with a little butter and parsley. It tastes great with any kind of starch, so choose your favorite or whatever you have on hand. Polenta, noodles or rice would all be delicious and would make this the perfect comfort food for a cold night’s meal.
Moroccan Lamb Stew/ Lamb Tagine
(Inspired by recipe from Gastronomersguide.com)
printable recipe here
2-1/2 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1-1/2-inch chunks
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/4 cup minced parsley or cilantro
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (I used tomatoes from my garden that I had frozen whole. If you don’t have these, buy some canned tomatoes and just use a few.)
2 cups chicken stock

pinch of saffron
6 dried figs, cut into quarters (or 12 prunes)

about a dozen olives (I used Kalamata)

1 preserved lemon (4 quarters), rinsed, pulp discarded, thinly sliced

four or five carrots, cut into chunks and steamed

steamed couscous (or potatoes) for serving

parsley or cilantro sprigs, for garnish

Add lamb to a large resealable plastic bag. Combine spices and pour over
lamb, seal bag, and shake until lamb is coated in mixture. Let marinate
in refrigerator overnight or for at least 1 hour. Let lamb rest at room
temperature for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare the bouquet garni by combining
cilantro and parsley sprigs on a square piece of cheesecloth. Bring
corners together and tie securely with kitchen twine.

Heat a seasoned 13-inch tagine, with a heat diffuser, over medium heat.
Drizzle a thin layer of olive oil in the bottom. Season the marinated
lamb chunks with salt and pepper. Sear in batches until brown all over.
Refresh oil as needed. Remove to a plate.

Add onion and a pinch of salt and saute, scraping up any brown bits,
until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute until
fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes with their juice and bouquet
garni. Add back seared lamb. Cover with stock. Crumble in saffron and
season with salt and pepper. Slowly bring liquid to a simmer. Cover with
lid and place in oven for 2 – 2 1/2 hours.  Half way through cooking time, check
to make sure lamb is still covered by liquid. Additional stock can be
added. Add cooked carrots, figs (or prunes), olives and preserved lemon slices 20 minutes toward end of
cooking time. If too much liquid, leave the lid off so evaporation can occur. Check seasoning. Serve over couscous (or with potatoes) and top with toasted
almonds and cilantro. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.