Zeytûnên bi catirî — Olives with Thyme in Olive Oil

Name: Zeytûnên bi catirî — Olives with Thyme in Olive Oil
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: 250 g green olives with stones (drained); 150 g black olives with stones (drained); 1 piece unwaxed lemon; 2 clove garlic; 2 tsp dried thyme (or a mix of oregano and thyme); 0.5 tsp red pepper flakes (Pul Biber); 100 ml olive oil

A Kurdish classic from Afrin in northwestern Syria: Afrin is olive country, and there are always olives on the breakfast table, dressed with wild thyme, which is called Catirî in Kurdish and Za'tar in Arabic. Shop-bought green and black olives are lightly crushed and left to steep for a day in olive oil with dried thyme, lemon, garlic and red pepper flakes until they taste savoury, herby and slightly tangy. The recipe makes 1 jar (about 500 g).

⏱

Cook time

15 min

🍽️

Servings

🧂

Ingredients

View Original ↗

Nutrition

per serving

1041 kcal

Calories

4 g

Protein

109 g

Fat

9 g

Carbs

Ingredients

For 1 servings

Estimated cost~€3.65 · ~€3.65/serving

Instructions

1
Rinse the olives in a sieve under cold water to wash off the brine, drain them well and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Fresh from the tree, olives are very bitter and inedible and have to be debittered for weeks in water and brine; that is why only shop-bought, ready-cured olives are used here.
2
Press each olive lightly with the flat side of a broad knife until it splits, or score it lengthways twice with a small knife so that the seasoning can penetrate; the stone stays in.
3
Wash the lemon in hot water and dry it, finely grate the zest and squeeze the juice. Peel the garlic and cut it into thin slices.
4
In a bowl, mix the olives with the lemon zest, 2 tbsp lemon juice, the garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes, rubbing the thyme between your fingers to release its aroma.
5
Rinse a screw-top jar of about 500 ml with hot water and let it drain. Fill it with the olives and pour over the olive oil until they are completely covered; if there isn't quite enough, top up with a little more oil.
6
Close the jar, shake it vigorously once and leave the olives to steep in the fridge for a day, turning the jar over from time to time. Because of the fresh garlic in the oil, always keep the olives in the fridge and eat them within a week.
7
Take the jar out of the fridge about 30 minutes before eating, because the olive oil turns solid and cloudy in the cold and becomes clear and liquid again at room temperature. Take out the olives with a clean spoon and put the jar back in the fridge straight away.
8
Tip: For a Kurdish breakfast, the olives are served with flatbread, tomatoes, cucumbers, sheep's cheese and Çay — Kurdish Tea in a Glass. The leftover seasoned oil is delicious for dipping bread or drizzled over grilled vegetables and follows the same rule: keep it in the fridge and use it within a week. If you prefer it milder, leave out the red pepper flakes; if you like it more bitter, use only green olives.