This past Wednesday we got the chance to attend the Spain Great Match wine, food, and design festival at the IAC HQ building in New York City. This event is dedicated to Spain’s food and wine industry and included over 300 wine and food tastings. As you can imagine, it was positively overwhelming (and delicious)! We were there specifically to visit Olives From Spain and try their variety of olives and recipes. As big fans of Mediterranean foods and olives, we were quite excited to taste their delicious dishes, and we were not disappointed.
Many people don’t know this, but Spain is the world leader in production and export of table olives and accounts for 22% of worldwide production and 40% of exports. In fact, over 95% of America’s pimento olives are sourced from Spain. Due to Spain’s sunny weather, fertile soil, and mild winters, it’s an ideal place to grow olives. Spain’s olives are handpicked to ensure quality and prevent damage, so you get the highest quality of fruit. They also produce many varieties including green olives, ripe and semi-ripe olives, and black olives.
Olives From Spain had several recipes on display that were creative and delicious. They combined interesting flavors with the olives like mint and orange, paired it with cheese and served it in mini cups. They really inspired us to create infused appetizers with olives, instead of just serving them on a cheese board. We were thrilled to find even more recipes on their website, so we thought we’d share a few of them with you.
Best of all, these recipes are intentionally easy-to-make with accessible ingredients. So, you don’t have to be a master chef to create these delicious, creative appetizers.
Black Olive Mint & Orange Appetizers
Combine black olives, orange portions, a splash of extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of orange juice and top with a mint leaves. Serve in shot glasses with toothpicks.
Green Olive Appetizers with Red Pepper, Goat Cheese & Almonds
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Combine green olives with roasted red pepper, crumbled goat cheese and shaved almonds. Add a splash of extra virgin olive oil. Serve in shot glasses with toothpicks.
Olivada Flat Bread
Ingredients: 2 cups ripe black olives, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tablespoons of capers, 2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar, 4 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, 1/2 cup manchego cheese, fresh thyme leaves, fresh basil, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 small dried chili, zest of lemon.
Combine all ingredients except olive oil and sherry vinegar in a food processor and pulse until everything is evenly chopped. Add olive oil and continue to pulse until you achieve a spreadable consistency. Place in fridge for 2 hours. Serve at room temperature.
Gordial Olive Salad
Ingredients: 150g Gordial Olives, goat cheese, 1 golden apple, hazelnuts, 2 tablespoons of wildflower honey, the juice of 1 lemon, extra virgin olive oil and thyme.
Cut the goat cheese into hazelnut-sized pieces. Peel the apple, cut into 1 cm cubes and toss with lemon juice. Combine the Gordial olives, goat cheese, apple and hazelnuts in a bowl. Dress with honey and the remainder of the lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Stir in thyme and set aside for 20 minutes to allow the flavor to set, then serve at room temperature
Want more delicious recipes? Go to the official Olives From Spain website and follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for dozens of more incredible dishes!
This is sponsored post written on behalf of Olives From Spain. All opinions are our own.
