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AI-generated photograph: Glossy green and black olives with curls of orange zest and rosemary in a small dark glazed bowl, beside a matching bowl of golden roast almonds flecked with sea salt, on a weathered olive wood board

Home · Recipes · Orange and fennel olives with roast almonds

Italian · Snacks

Orange and fennel olives with roast almonds

warm olives · orange and fennel · salted almonds

AI-generated photograph

A little bowl to nibble before dinner, Italian aperitivo style: mixed olives warmed in olive oil with orange zest, fennel seeds, garlic and rosemary, beside almonds roasted golden with a pinch of sea salt.

Contains: tree nuts, as written. This recipe contains tree nuts, from the almonds. Some jarred olives contain sulphites, so check the label. The other ingredients contain none of the 14.

Ingredients

  • 100g whole blanched almonds
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil, for the almonds
  • Half a teaspoon flaky sea salt
  • 200g mixed olives (green and black), drained
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 orange, zest peeled off in thin strips
  • 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
  • Half a teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • A pinch of chilli flakes (optional)

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Let's cook

  1. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan). Toss the almonds with 1 teaspoon of olive oil on a small baking tray.
  2. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking the tray halfway, until golden and smelling toasty. Watch them: nuts burn fast. Sprinkle with the flaky salt while hot and leave to cool, when they turn crunchy.
  3. Meanwhile, put the 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a small pan with the orange zest strips, garlic, fennel seeds, rosemary and chilli flakes, if using.
  4. Warm on a low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until the garlic is just sizzling gently and the kitchen smells of orange. Do not let it brown.
  5. Take off the heat, add the olives and stir. Leave for at least 10 minutes so the olives take on the flavours.
  6. Serve the olives warm or at room temperature in a small bowl, with the almonds in another and a little dish for the stones.

Tips

  • Use olives with stones in: they have a better texture and flavour than pitted ones.
  • A squeeze of the orange juice over the olives just before serving brightens them.
  • Keep any leftover olives in their oil in a jar in the fridge for a week; bring back to room temperature before eating.

Swaps

  • Nut free: leave out the almonds and serve the olives with breadsticks (which contain gluten) or roast chickpeas.
  • No fennel seeds: use a little dried oregano.

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