Olive Paste Recipes

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse to make a smooth paste of the olives, capers, garlic, and thyme(if using dried).
• Add the olive oil while the food processor is running.
• Season with black pepper and add the lemon juice(and thyme if using fresh).
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• In a food processor process olives with garlic until chopped. Add olive oil, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and puree again. Transfer to a jar, cover with oil and keep refrigerated or frozen for a couple of weeks.

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, blend the olives, anchovy fillets, garlic, rosemary, and pepper to a smooth paste. With the processor on, slowly add the olive oil until combined, about 2 minutes. Transfer the olive paste to a small bowl, and set aside.

Steps:

• Begin heating a large pot of water for the pasta. Meanwhile, combine 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the sliced garlic over medium-low heat in a medium saucepan or skillet. Cook, stirring often, until the garlic turns golden, about two minutes. Do not let it take on any more color than this. Remove the garlic slices with a slotted spoon and discard, then add the bread crumbs to the pan. Turn the heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until the bread crumbs are crisp. Remove from the heat, and set aside.
• Return the pan to medium heat, and add the remaining olive oil, the red pepper flakes and the minced garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds until the garlic smells fragrant, and add the tomatoes, capers and olives. Bring to a simmer, and simmer until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the spaghetti. Cook al dente, following the cooking recommendations on the package but checking about a minute before the suggested time. Drain, and toss with the tomato sauce. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and parsley on top, toss again briefly and serve, passing the Parmesan at the table.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Cook spaghetti according to package directions for al dente. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until beef is no longer pink and onion is tender, 6-8 minutes, breaking up beef into crumbles; drain. Stir in pasta sauce, olives, capers, anchovies, pepper flakes and seasoned salt; set aside., In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, Parmesan cheese and butter. Drain spaghetti; add to egg mixture and toss to coat., Place half of the spaghetti mixture in a greased 13x9-in. or 3-qt. baking dish. Top with half of the cottage cheese, meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet., Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake until heated through, 20-25 minutes longer. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. If desired, sprinkle with basil, olives and capers.

Steps:

• To pit the olives, you can use a cherry/olive pitter, but I've found that the olives frequently slip through the holes instead of just the pits.
• Another way to pit olives is to put them inside a folded kitchen towel and then bang on them with a mallet, cutting board, small frying pan, or whatever suits your fancy.
• Sure the olives get bruised, but what do you think is going to happen in the food processor?.
• Mixing raw garlic and olive oil provides an ideal breeding ground for the anaerobic bacteria which cause botulism.
• If I'm going to keep the paste around for a number of days, which I usually do, I'll mince the garlic, add it to the oil and then heat both in the microwave.
• I try not to cook the garlic too much in this manner- you just need to heat the oil and garlic up to 140 or 150 degrees for a while.
• Mix all of the ingredients in food processor.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the ingredients and blend with a fork. If using a food processor, be very careful not to over-process; a chunky texture is better. Store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one month.
• To use the olive paste as a marinade, slather chicken, fish, beef or veal well and marinate for up to 6 hours before cooking. The mixture can also be used as a sauce by spooning over meat, poultry or fish in the last five minutes of cooking.