Shabbat dinner at my mom’s is like Thanksgiving at Martha Stewart’s. The dining table is covered completely with salatim (salads). Fresh salads and cooked salads. There’s matbucha and baba ganoush, Swiss chard and harissa salad, spicy carrot salad with cumin, this olive salad, and many more. By the time you get to the first course, which is usually Moroccan fish, you’re full.
My mother always warns us not to stuff ourselves with the salatim, but once you start, you can’t stop. They’re addictive. My mother’s hand is extraordinary. Unlike many Sephardic Jews I know, she is not very generous with her spices, her hand is heavy on the herbs. So her food is very delicate and elegant but so damn good!
About this recipe: Warm olive salad is one of my favorites. It’s made with Syrian bitter and cracked olives that were boiled three times in water to remove the bitterness, then cooked with tomatoes, cilantro, and spices. The easiest way to remove the pits is to crack them with a mallet or rolling pin (see pic above). Bitter Syrian olives work the best because they don’t fall apart when you cook them.
It’s fascinating to watch my mom cook. The stove and counter are always spotless. Even when she cooks ten things at the same time. Sometime I’m not sure if I am really her daughter.
The best thing about Friday in a Moroccan home is Friday’s lunch sandwich, which is Lechem Bait (home bread) stuffed with one or two Moroccan cooked salads.
Cooked Olive Salad
Ingredients
- 1 can Syrian cracked olives or green pitted olives
- 2 to matoes - peeled and diced
- Handful cilantro - rinsed carefully and chopped roughly
- 2 medium garlic cloves - pressed
- 1 tablespoon avocado or canola oil
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- dash of white pepper
- salt
Instructions
- Pit the olives (if the olives are not already cracked, crush them with a rolling pin and remove the pits – this is the only effortful part.
- If you are using Syrian or any bitter olives you need to boil them at least twice in water for 2 -3 minutes, to get rid of the bitterness.
- While you boil the olives put the rest of the ingredients in a medium saucepan and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Drain the olives and add them to the saucepan, give them a quick stir and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it cool completely before you serve or store it in the fridge. They are better after they are cold and set in the sauce for a few hours.
Discover more from Shelly’s Humble Kitchen
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Well written.great pictures.
Yumyum.
Everything look so great,,, it’s to dangerous to see it before breakfast.
Thank you for your kind words:)
הו,ברוכה השבה.. חיכנו לפוסטים חדשים! תבורך אמך 🙂
בהחלט תבורך אימי, איזה ידיים יש לה. תודה הילה!
I love the way you express your love for your mother and the culture she imparted to you
Thank you! She is an incredible cook and so do you. The first time I made ice cream from scratch was with you!And you introduced me to kale and other leafy greens. I would love to post your minestrone soup if you don’t mind sharing the recipe.