Simple Castelvetrano Olives with Lemon and Pepperoncini Peppers

 These fancy little guys are easy to make and are full of flavor! Buttery smooth, lemony, and hint of peppery bite. Add these to your next charcuterie board!

Castelvetrano: The King of Olives

               Growing up as a Midwestern American boy, my experience with olives was pretty limited.  The occasional canned black olive from the Pizza Hut salad bar, a Gringo style nacho platter, or straight from the can and inserted on to the tip of each of my fingers, making me giggle a little as I plucked them off with my teeth.  Occasionally, I would attempt to eat one of those pimento-stuffed green olives.  They all kind of tasted the same: salty and not that impressive.  I still enjoy eating cheap black olives from the can and my kids enjoy them too.  However, recently I made a trip to Louisville, Kentucky and a small pile of olives on a charcuterie board at Red Hog changed my life. 

               I feel bad saying this, but those olives are the only thing that I can fully remember from that board of cured meats and smelly cheeses.  Everything was great, but those olives were the one thing that really stuck with me.  They were bright green and accompanied by some lemon rind and a skinny little pepper that, from what I can tell, was a Spanish guindilla pepper.  It was bright, buttery, and not overly salty.  Like a ray of Mediterranean sunshine in my mouth.  Thirty-eight years of blood pumping through me led to this moment and I will never forget it.  They were so good that I ended up buying two big deli containers full of them to take home. 

               When I got home, I set out to recreate that experience.  I ended up discovering the king of Olives: the Castelvetrano Olive.  Vibrant green, meaty texture, and buttery flavor.  Less salty and bitter than other olives.  The kind of olive that even an olive-hater can tolerate (and maybe even LOVE).  A far departure from the basic black or the stuffed cocktail olive. 

Tell me more about these majestic, green beauties…

Castelvetrano olives come from the Valle del Belice region of Sicily.  That’s in Italy for you geographically challenged folks.  It’s a wonderfully beautiful place that I have never visited, other than in my dreams.  There is even a town called Castelvetrano.  It’s probably a magical place with olives on every street corner and a fountain of olive oil in the town square.  I imagine the children of the town dancing through the streets with a bright green olive on the tip of each finger, all throughout the day.  Magical.  It looks like a lovely place, full of history and scenery for you to enjoy as you snack on more olives. 

What other ways can I enjoy the blessing that is the Castelvetrano Olive?

So, besides eating them as an accoutrement to a charcuterie board, Castelvetrano olives are great in other preparations.  I recently picked up a book from my local library that had a recipe for an orange and olive relish. 

• Orange and Castelvetrano Relish: Chopped navel oranges, olives, fresh parsley, extra virgin olive oil, a little salt and a little coriander.  It’s a great recipe.  I started making it with grilled chicken that I pile on top of pearl couscous.  Even my kids enjoy eating it and have even attempted to make their own version one day for lunch, while I was at work.  Proud dad moment. 
• Palestinian Inspired Shrimp Skewers with Castelvetrano Olives, Veggies, and Date Glaze: These skewers are inspired by a recipe from Brad Leone, where he seasons with za’atar and coats them with a honey glaze. The other half of the inspiration came from the Palestinian doctor who took care of my son in the NICU. Za’atar originated in the region of Palestine. So, I decided to add some veggies from that area and serve it over mint couscous and glazed with date syrup and peach vinegar. They turned out great!

What do I need to make these lemon and pepper brined Castelvetrano Olives?

• Castelvetrano Olives: I use the pitted version, just for simplicity sake. If you have an olive pitter and want to buy the whole version, feel free to do that. I actually have read that the whole olives have a slightly better flavor than the pitted version. Whatever you decide will still be great.
• A Lemon: We want the outer rind of the lemon. The zest. I like to use a potato peeler and shave off big chunks of the yellow zest, leaving all of the white rind behind.
• Pepperoncini Peppers: I think the first version of this that I tried had Guindilla Peppers, a long, skinny, yellowish-green pepper from Spain. Feel free to use this, if available. For my area, pepperoncini peppers are more readily available and somewhat comparable in flavor.
• Mason Jars or Large Deli Containers: This is the vessel that will hold all of the ingredients and allow for the magic to happen.