Green Tahini with Green Olives and Calabrian Chiles

This recipe from Kismet Cookbook is very worthy of your cocktail hour.

Tahini with Green Olives and Calabrian Chile

Makes 3 cups

1 cup pitted green olives, such as Castelvetrano, coarsely chopped

¼ cup olive oil

1 bay leaf

2 tsp coriander seeds, coarsely ground in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle

2 garlic cloves, grated

2 Tbl jarred Calabrian chiles,

1 chopped Grated zest of ½ orange

3 Tbl orange juice

2 Tbl red wine vinegar

½ cup parsley leaves

2 cups Green Tahini Sauce (recipe follows)

Directions:

Place the olives in a small heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, combine the olive oil, bay leaf, coriander, and garlic. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the garlic begins to sizzle, about 5 minutes. Add the Calabrian chiles and orange zest and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Stir in the orange juice and vinegar and pour the mixture over the olives. Remove the bay leaf and let cool. To serve, fold in the parsley leaves and spoon on top of the tahini sauce. Get Ahead The marinated olives can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week. Let come to room temperature, about 30 minutes, to melt the oil before tossing with the parsley. 1 If you have trouble finding a jar of Calabrian chiles, sub in a teaspoon or two of chile flakes.

Green Tahini

Ingredients:

1 cup tahini

1 garlic clove, grated

¼ cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 cups herbs

2/3 cups water

Directions:

In a food processor bowl add tahini along with the garlic, lemon juice, herbs and salt and pulse to combine. Slowly add ⅔ cup water to the tahini mixture, pulse until the mixture is completely smooth and lightly aerated. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.

You might need more or less water to get to your desired consistency Go slow. You can always add more water, but it’s much harder to correct having added too much. As you pour the water in, the tahini will get very stiff at first. As you keep going, it will thin out.