Black Olive Pie Recipe
Yum! Olives are one of my favorite things to snack on. They come in so many different sizes and colors and they taste so very different from each other. I have always wondered how can such a small fruit hold so much flavor. Of course, the different brining methods have a lot to do with making the flavors more intense. If you have the chance to pick an olive off the tree and taste it, it is extremely bitter and I don’t think you would want to ever eat olives again!
I use this black olive pie recipe when I am entertaining a large crowd, since it can be prepared ahead of time and popped in the oven. The presentation is beautiful, especially when sliced evenly and served. It also makes a great leftover - it reheats very easily and can even be enjoyed cold. Its like eating an olive sandwich.
For our purposes, in this recipe we will be using pitted Kalamata olives that are readily available in the markets or in the big clubs.
Kalamata Olives are grown in the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. The kalamata olive tree has much larger leaves than other olive trees and it allows them to absorb more sunshine. This gives their dark purple fruit a more dense texture and a flavor that some compare to fine wine. They are brined in salt, water and red wine vinegar to enhance their flavor. This also mellows their bitter taste and softens the olive’s flesh.
The dough for this recipe is very easy to make and the flavor is a bit on the sweet side since it uses Orange Juice as the liquid to make the dough. The sweetness of the juice and the brining saltiness of the olives create an array of flavors in your mouth that will keep you coming back for more.
Black Olive Pie Recipe
Dough:
3 cups of flour
½ cup to ¾ cup orange juice
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
Filling:
16 ounces pitted black olives
1 medium onion, sliced
¼ tsp black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon dried mint
Dough: Blend all of the ingredients of the dough in a food processor until a dough forms. If the dough is too dry, add more orange juice, tablespoon by tablespoon. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, soak the olives in water for about 30 minutes. Drain and then add the sliced onions, pepper, paprika and mint.
Roll out the dough into a rectangle. Add the olive filling on one side of the rectangle, lengthwise, and roll the dough with the olives like a jelly roll.
Brush the top with egg wash (1 egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of water), sprinkle sesame seeds, and bake at 400 degrees until golden, about 35 minutes. Cool and serve sliced.
Anushner!
