Penna Olives, from stuffed olives to olive spreads, we've got it all

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Here are some of our favorite recipes that we are sharing with you. The uses of our products are only limited by your imagination. We hope that you will share your favorites with us as well. Please e-mail recipes to us, and we will attempt to post it on this website. We can give you credit for the recipe if you wish. If the recipe is not an original of yours, please indicate to whom credit should be given. Please check back often as we hope to keep this page updated with new and varied ways to use our products.

Italian Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

One 16-ounce package rotini (spiral) pasta
One 10 oz. jar Italian Deli Mix
One 16 oz. jar Bernstein's Cheese Fantastico! Dressing
1/2 lb. thin sliced dry salami
Marinated artichoke hearts, as many as you like

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions. While pasta is cooking, drain and chop the contents of the Italian Deli Mix jar. Then slice the salami into quarters. Once pasta is drained, rinsed and cooled, add all the ingredients and allow to sit overnight (refrigerated.) The pasta will absorb much of the salad dressing, so don't worry if it appears you added too much.

Lye Process For Green-Ripe Olives (for curing fresh olives)

This process will produce straw-yellow to green or brown olives. Choose fruit that is green, straw-colored, or cherry-red. Do not use black-ripe fruit because it is likely to become soft when pickled.

REMINDER: FRESH OLIVES ARE EXTREMELY BITTER PRIOR TO PROCESSING

Prepare a solution of 2 ounces (about 4 level tablespoons) of *lye to each gallon of water. Use a wooden, glass, or stoneware container. Never use an aluminum container because *lye will ruin it or a galvanized metal container because the zinc will dissolve and may make the olives poisonous. Stir the solution until the *lye is well dissolved.
Cover the olives with the *lye solution at noon the first day. Place a towel or cloth over them and push it down tightly to keep the olives submerged. You can judge the amount of penetration, after over night processing, by cutting sample olives to the pit with a sharp knife. The *lye solution discolors the flesh to a yellowish-green color. If the *lye has not reached the pits by the next morning, remove the *lye solution, then cover the olives with a new *lye solution of one ounce (about 2 level tablespoons) of *lye per gallon of water and let stand until the *lye reaches the pits completely. This should reach the pits before 5:00 PM that day, but check the olives every couple of hours.
Remove the *lye solution and discard it. Pour it down the toilet and flush several times or carefully pour down a sink drain followed by rinsing with cold water.
Rinse the olives twice in cold water, and then cover them with cold water. Change the water each day until the rinse water has no brownish color. This may take as long as 5 or 6 days. Expose the olives to air as little as possible during the *lye treatment or washing.
Prepare a salt brine containing 4 ounces (about 6 1/2 level tablespoons) of salt per 1 gallon of water. Dissolve the salt thoroughly and cover the olives with the solution. Let it stand for 2 days.

The olives are then ready for use. Store them in a cold place, preferably in a refrigerator.

*LYE WARNING: Handle with care! Lye is very caustic and can cause serious burns! Use lemon or vinegar (acidic) to neutralize lye that splashes onto the skin. If lye gets into the eyes, rinse the eyes with running water and call the doctor. If lye is swallowed, call the doctor, drink milk or egg whites – do NOT induce vomiting.

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Mediterranean Partida Style Recipe (for curing 2.5 lbs of green fresh olives)

The following recipe is one of the oldest to evolve from the Mediterranean region where olives are consumed as a staple and every day fare. By following this recipe, the preparer of these olives can achieve a finished product that cannot be bought at any retail store.

REMINDER: FRESH OLIVES ARE EXTREMELY BITTER PRIOR TO PROCESSING

Always rinse the olives in fresh water prior to preparing.
Place olives one or two at a time on a bread board and strike with a mallet or any other heavy object to crack the olives in preparation for leaching the bitterness out.
Place cracked olives in fresh water. Cover with water until all olives are submerged. It may require placing an object on top of the olives. The container used in processing should be glass or plastic.
The water should be changed daily for 10 days until the olives have lost most of their bitterness.
PREPARATION OF FINISH BRINE: Take ¾ cup ( 190 ml) of 5% wine vinegar or 5% distilled vinegar & add water until you have 32 liquid ounces. To this acidified brine add 5 level tablespoons of table salt, stir until dissolved. Drain olives well, then add your new acidified salt brine. The container should be of a type that can be sealed so no flavor will be picked up in the refrigerator.
Now is where the preparer can become creative in their spicing scheme. Remember to go slow on amounts of spice because it takes about three days to be absorbed by the olives. By the end of the 4th day, the olives are ready to eat but will continue to absorb the spices.

REMINDER: IT IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP REFRIGERATED FROM STEP 5 ON

Fresh Black Olive Cures (for curing black fresh olives)

Water Cure/Brine Cure

Cut olives length-ways, two cuts to about 1/8 inch into the meat.
Soak in water for 8 to 10 days, changing water daily.
A salt/acid brine of 1 lb. of salt per gallon of water, then add one quart of red wine vinegar for a total of 5 quarts.
Cover olives with finished brine and pour 1/4 to 3/8 inch of vegetable oil or olive oil on top.
A nice touch is to add about four lemons sliced into wheels per 10 lb box of olives.
Also at this time, the addition of spices while the olives are marinating in brine will give a nice finished flavor. We would prefer to see you use dehydrated garlic rather than fresh garlic in your brine.
Try olives after four weeks to see if ready.

Heat Cure (also for those on a salt restricted diet)

Wash Olives in fresh water, drain.
Use a fruit dryer, set at 120 to 130 degrees F.
It is very important to move the olives every day, so the fruit will have a new contact point with each other.
If you don't have a dryer, you can use the lowest setting of your oven.
This cure does not have any salt added to the olive.
After drying, because of the lack of preservatives, salt/fruit acid, the shelf life is short. We WOULD STRONGLY URGE FREEZING THE OLIVES, then tossing in olive oil and spice after thawing to room temperature to use.

Variant to the heat cure

Place olives in boiling water for three minutes.
Drain and place in salt brine, 1 lb. of salt/1 gallon water for three days.
Remove from salt brine, and drain.
Use fruit dryer set at 120 to 130 degrees F.
Move olives daily to change contact points.
Four to six days drying time. AGAIN, WE URGE FREEZING FOR PRESERVATION.

NOTE If any of your dried cures are too dry, blanch in boiling water till re-hydrated to desired moisture. After draining toss with olive oil and add spice while the olives are still hot.

Nonno’s Olives

Adapted from Marco Smouha in an article from the New York Times, dated October 17, 2007.

Spicy Green Olive Tapenade

Involves using already salt cured olives, in an article from the New York Times, dated October 17, 2007.