Preserved Black Olives

Ingredients

• Black olives
• Lemon
• Olive oil
• Coarse salt
• for soaking and boiling Water

Instructions

1. Wash the black olives in a pot or suitable bowl until they are completely clean of leaves and impurities.
2. Make two or three slits in each black olive in the bowl using a suitable tool, wearing gloves to protect your hands from the substance released by the olives.
3. Place the slit olives in a jar or large bowl, then add plain water until all the olives are submerged.
4. Leave the olives in the bowl with the water for a full week, changing the water 3 to 5 times daily to speed up the olives’ curing process.
5. Drain the olives in a colander placed over a pot or deep pan.
6. Add 6 tablespoons of coarse salt per 1.5 kilos of olives to the pot or pan, then toss the olives in the colander or bowl until the salt reaches every olive.
7. Place a plate or weight on top of the olives in the bowl or colander, and leave for about 25 to 27 days, draining off the collected water and turning the olives every two or three days.
8. Add boiling hot water to the bowl over the olives for about 10 to 15 minutes, then stir the olives with a spoon so the hot water reaches every olive.
9. Drain the olives again from the hot water using the colander.
10. Taste the olives from the pot or colander; if they need salt, add a pinch of fine salt, then add 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per 1.5 kilos of olives.
11. Spread the olives on a tray lined with kitchen paper or a clean cotton cloth until completely dry.
12. Leave the olives overnight in a well-ventilated place, such as a veranda or balcony, so that no trace of water remains.
13. Cut the lemon in a suitable bowl, then sprinkle it with a pinch of salt.
14. Add the cut lemon to the dried olives in the bowl or jar, then add the olive oil and stir the ingredients together.
15. Place the seasoned olives in a clean jar, then add olive oil on top until they are completely covered.
16. Leave the jar for about two hours before consuming.