Here’s a pretty and on-the-spot app that I tend to have a big jar of in the fridge.  It’s simple and with a tiny bit of prep you can have this as a go to for weeks.

I first had a version of this in a restaurant near Oxford.  My group of school friends would go to a place called “The Trout” whenever possible for a bevvie or two.  We had a spot that we liked to sit beside their little waterfall and watch the resident peacocks walk back and forth on the stone wall.

For a girl from suburban Toronto this place seemed as far from reality as possible.  I went back a few years ago with my husband on our anniversary and the magic was still there.

I can’t guarantee peacocks will appear if you eat these olives but you can pretend if you have an extra glass of something sparkly.

If you serve them with chunks of cheese, a bit of salami and really nice bread you’ve got a great summer snack.

You can eat these warm if you can’t wait for them to cool to room temp.  That delayed gratification thing is highy over-rated 🙂

This recipe makes 2 cups but I usually double it.

In a pan gently warm; 1/2 cup of olive oil (don’t use the REALLY good stuff) and add a cup each of green and black olives (not ones already packed in oil) and 2 garlic cloves (slivered).

Decide what seasonings you would like, my favourite is herbes de provene (1 T.) and 1/2 tsp of hot pepper flakes.  You can change it up with dried basil or thyme or oregano or a mixture of all of them just make up 1 T.

Add the zest of an orange and the zest of a lemon. Finish with a splash of balsamic and heat for 2 minutes.

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