Spiced Olives

This is straight out of David Tanis's book A Platter of Figs.

The pickling process for the lemons reminds me of the flavor of my aunt's South Indian White Lemon Pickle, which I am tempted now to make....

I made the addition of adding Harissa, a Tunisian spice. I was fortunate enough to come across some when I was up in Seattle, at a store called Market Spice. (There is another good spice vendor called World Spice Market in Seattle as well).

Ingredients
2 cups good green olives
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 garlic cloves, smashed into a paste with a little salt
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper or Harissa
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt

Rinse the olives.

Toast the cumin and coriander in a dry skillet over medium heat until the spices begin to color a bit and their aroma is released. Coarsely grind in a mortar.

Mix the olives with all of the ingredients. Sprinkle some salt on top when you are finished.

You can eat the olives right away. The longer they stay in the jar, the more the flavors will absorb into the olives!

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