Olives! Olive tarts, Olive Bread, Olives Direct

Olives

It's funny how your tastes can change.
I remember strongly not liking olives as a child, just as I remember my mother saying, "Just wait until your older, you'll love them."
And you know what? She was so right.
I love olives now. I love them in salads, on a pizza, with cheese and crackers, baked in breads and muffins, so many ways and real olives are that zing of flavour that makes certain recipes burst with flavour in your mouth.


You can almost feel warm Mediterranean sun on your skin as you enjoy their rich flavour.

Olives - Olea Europaea were always one of my favourite plants, long before I liked their fruit.
They are hardy and strikingly beautiful.
Their thin, hard silver grey/green leaves are a beautiful contrast in landscaping.
They make great feature trees, hedges, wind breaks and topiaries as well as being a food source.
A small growing tree that can also be grown in large tubs they originate from the Mediterranean and are also said to be traced back to the Middle East and also Africa.

Throughout history olive branches are said to represent abundance, glory and peace and olives are referenced and symbolic in many cultures.
They even found olive branches in Tutankahmun's tomb.
It is said to be one of the oldest of all cultivated trees and it is a species that can live for thousands of years, while tolerating drought, salt spray, storms and even poor soils.

Olives were popular throughout history for good reason, they taste wonderful but have many health benefits too and olive oil rich diets, such as those from the Mediterranean are said to be amongst the healthiest in the world with places like Crete having the highest rate of olive oil consumption per person and  also having the lowest rate of all heart related diseases.
I was truly fascinated recently to visit a local olive producer, where I live on the Sunshine Coast in Qld, called Olives Direct - The Olive Drop. I first discovered the company when creating a recipe suitable for Christmas time around their dried balsamic olives for the Maleny Supa IGA and their local product local recipe - recipe cards.

As we pulled up the (very steep) driveway you were transported by the sensational smells of just baked olives.
It smelt warm and delicious all at the same time.
We got to see the mouth watering just cooked olives ( and we got to taste some!) as they were being put into the jars and talk to the cook.
We met the lovely owner and heard about the family behind the business, the family history that is so entwined with this gorgeous, real and tasty business and all about the wonderful traditional recipes, techniques and knowledge about olives.

One of the things I love most about eating and supporting local food is discovering the families and the stories behind these entrepreneurs. Hearing where they started and what inspired them to start.

Olives Direct also got behind the Edible Sunshine Coast events and participants got to taste test these gorgeous olives and some lucky people even got to win some!

What impressed me greatly was the ranges they produced.
Not just what you first think of when someone sais olives, they had olives preserved in many different ways and using their traditional names too, not just green,black and blonde.
You see they not only create these beautiful products but they also love to share their knowledge and expertise.

They produce olives but also olive oil, flavour infused olive oils, glazes and more.
As a foodie your imagination runs wild with ideas and recipes.
These gorgeous little olive and goats cheese tartlets are part of the recipe collection for the Maleny Supa IGA's local product local recipe cards which if your on the Sunshine Coast or visit here you can pick up in store. You can all find all the gorgeous Olives Direct products in their gourmet section in store.

Olive and Goats Cheese Miniature Tartlets

With beautiful Olive Drop dried olives in aged balsamic glaze, fresh herbs and goats cheese these Hors d'oeuvres are perfect for entertaining and special occasions like Christmas day, your next dinner party or just a really tasty snack at home.

Makes approximately 12 miniature tartlets 

Ingredients
• 100g The Olive Drop, dried olives in aged balsamic glaze
• 100g Billy goat cheese, cut into cubes
• ¼ cup Kenilworth mild cheddar cheese, grated
• 6 Essensual Tastes semi dried tomatoes, chopped
• 2 Rawganix free range eggs
• ½ cup Maleny Dairies cream
• 8 fresh basil leaves
• 3 stems of fresh chives
• 1 stalk spring onion, sliced thinly
• 1 cup Maleny IGA plain flour
• 75g chilled butter, cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons soy or Maleny Dairies milk
• ¼ teaspoon Karom Himalayan salt
• Black pepper to taste
• Miniature muffin or tart baking tray

Method 
• Using a food processor combine flour, butter and salt, until it looks like breadcrumbs.
• Add in milk and process until it comes together.
• Kneed into a ball.  Wrap in cling wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 180’c.
• Grease miniature muffin or tart tray.
• In a bowl whisk eggs lightly, add in cream and then cheddar cheese. Season with black pepper to taste.
• Cut olive flesh from the dried olives in pieces, removing the pips as you go.
• Roll out pastry onto a floured bench with a lightly floured rolling pin.
• Cut out pastry circles with a biscuit cutter or by tracing around the outside of a small glass. Ensure you make them slightly bigger than the size of the muffin/tart holes.
• Place pastry circles into the greased or lined muffin/tart tray.
• Place a cube of goats cheese and a couple of small pieces of olive in each one
• In the base of each one put a piece of torn basil leaf, sundried tomato, a cube of the goats cheese, a bit of olive and a little spring onion.
• Carefully cover each one with some of the egg mixture, careful not to overfill.
• Top with a piece of dried olive and a small amount of freshly chopped chives. Bake for 15 minutes of or until filling is firm.

Notes
• A very tasty entrée that looks great too
• Can be served hot or cold

Toddler Tips
• These are perfect sized for little hands, making them very appealing to children.
• These dried olives have a delicate subtle taste that kids will like and all the flavours combine together well to make for a tasty snack they will love.

Another of my favourite ways to enjoy some of these gorgeous flavoursome olives is also in freshly baked bread like my
 Olive, Onion and Rosemary Bread 
pictured here.

Made with beautiful rich olive oil, kalmata olives, red onion, thyme and fresh rosemary.

Perfect accompaniment for soups, stews picnics and great cheeses.Want the bread recipe too?
Leave me a comment or let me know on Facebook 

Happy cooking!

Rebecca XX
text, recipe and photography (c)RebeccaMugridge2013
(excludes any linked up material  or comments)

Do you have a great Olive or Olive oil recipe?
Join in the Olive love and link it up here for some communal olive loving Xx