I did not grow up eating olives. Infact I had no idea about olives or what were olives when I was young. I had my first taste of an olive when I came to the United States 18 years ago. I did not like it. It was in a salad from one of the fast food chains. Those black olives are simply not good. I had not tasted a real good olive. I left it for a couple of years. Finally I decided to give it a try again, but this time they were marinated olives from a grocery store. I liked it and bought them to add to my salads. Slowly and surely I started loving olives, and they became a regular at home. I would get the fresh ones from the Whole Foods Olive bar. I simply love the variety that you get in the Olive Bar.
The olives made appearances in my sandwiches, pizza, salads, frittatas, you name it! I love a good olive tapenade, cause it makes a great spread for sandwiches OR simply as a dip on a crudité plate. My favorite way ofcourse to serve and eat olives is on a cheese board, because you get a vast variety of foods to pair with, and they are great for parties or gatherings. My daughter is 8 now, but when she was 2, she had her first taste of an olive and boy oh boy did she like it?! She kept asking for more and more! It was like candy for her! Olives are an acquired taste, and for her to like olives at 2 !? I was impressed with her palate! She still loves olives, and pops them like candy! We do end up spending money at the olive bar at Whole Foods 😉
So ofcourse, I was ecstatic and thrilled when I was offered to collaborate with Have an Olive Day, a campaign to spread the love for olives around the world, especially in the USA! They sent me some pretty Green Olives and the Stuffed Olives with pimientos ! Both of them are my favorite kind of olives! I love the Green Olives – they are big and bold and have a punch in their flavor. It can be used for cooking or stuffing or just to eat by itself! The Stuffed Olives with pimientos, are also my favorite because you have the tangy earthy olive along with the sweet flavor from the red pepper! Soooo good!
Did you know that olives have been produced in Europe, especially in Spain since more than 2000 years!? It is so much a part of their culture and cuisine and what makes their food so very flavorful. The sunny weather in Spain, along with the rich fertile soil helps for the olives to grow well. The olives are hand picked very carefully one by one to avoid damaging the fruit. A large portion of the olives are used for making olive oil, and a small portion converts to olives to be eaten as is. It takes about 40 pounds of olives to make a gallon of olive oil! So you do the math of how many olives are required to make gazillion gallons of olive oil!! A lot of hard work is put into these precious jewel like fruits! Fruits of labor indeed 🙂
We had a wonderful Sunday brunch with the Spanish omlette( called Tortilla Espanola ) made with potatoes, sweet yellow onions olives and sweet peppers. I cooked the potatoes and onions first in the pan. Once cooked for 20 minutes and softened, I added the whipped eggs along with the olives and peppers, and finished cooking the omlette in the pan on both sides. This omlette is so good by itself with the tangy olives and sweet peppers to compliment the flavors, along with the potatoes and onions. I added smoked paprika to spice it up a bit and garnished it with chopped parsley. It is typically served with aioli and I made a chipotle aioli to top it off.
We served the omlette with a good crusty bread, a cheese platter to go with the meal, and blood orange palomas to wash it all down! Such a good and satisfying meal it was and my family enjoyed it as well! The recipe is very easy to make, so if you get a chance, do try it! If you do try it, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on my blog post below.
Muchas Gracias!
Amor!
XO
Amisha
The post has been generously sponsored by Marvel Crowd agency on behalf of Have an Olive Day company.
Ingredients
- Tortilla Espanola:
- 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes peeled and cut into half. Cut each half crosswise, and thinly slice.
- 1 white onion thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves grated
- 1 ½ cups olive oil
- 10 olives cut into rounds
- 6 sweet peppers thinly sliced
- 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 6 extra large eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Garnish: Finely chopped parsley
- Chipotle Aoili:
- 2 garlic cloves finely grated
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 ½ tsp chipotle in adobo sauce
Instructions
- Chipotle Aioli:
- Mash the garlic with the salt, with the knife until it looks like a paste. In a small bowl, add the egg yolk, lemon juice and mustard and whisk until combined. Add in the garlic paste and whisk to combine. Now while whisking, add the olive oil and vegetable oil and keep whisking to emulsify. Keep whisking until the mixture is smooth.
- Tortilla Espanola:
- In a 10 inch non-stick skillet, add the oil and on medium heat, let it heat up for 2 minutes. Now add the potatoes, onions and garlic. Stir it with a wooden spatula immediately to move around and coat all the potatoes and onions with the oil. Stir it every 3-4 minutes, moving the mixture at the bottom to the top and vice versa. Do this for 20 minutes, until the potatoes and onions are soft. Now drain off the mixture through a colander, letting the oil drain into a bowl.
- In a separate large bowl, add the eggs, salt and pepper and smoked paprika and whisk vigorously until the mixture is frothy. Now add the semi cooled potato mixture into the eggs and gentle stir. Add this mixture back to the skillet, and on medium heat let it cook for 3 minutes. You will see the egg on the sides rising slightly. Run the spatula around the skillet to make sure the mixture is not sticking to the skillet and you can see that it is browning. Add the olives and sweet peppers onto the top and mix it gently to let them mix in the middle of the omlette. Let it cook for another 5-6 minutes. The center will slowly look a bit set. Take a large plate, and put it over the skillet. Now take the skillet over the sink, and using a kitchen towel over the plate, quickly flip the plate/skillet to invert the omlette onto the plate. Slide the omlette back into the skillet, to brown the other side. Place the skillet back onto the stove.
- Cook for another 3-4 minutes to brown the other side. Once the other side is browned, switch off the stove. Using the same technique, flip the omlette again onto a plate, by placing the plate over the skillet and flipping over the sink. This way the olive and sweet peppers face on the top.
- Slice and serve with the chipotle aioli! Enjoy!
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