Tapas! Marinated Olives with Chef Jose Andres

José Andrés.   He was born in Asturias, a coastal region northern Spain, and trained under culinary genius Ferran Adria at El Bulli.   José is now is the chef and partner of several Washington Dc restaurants, a bestselling cookbook author, and the charming host of the PBS show Made in Spain, as well as the Spanish cooking show Vamos a Cocinar.  His recipes are cherished by both home cooks and professional chefs for their high quality ingredients combined with simple preparation methods.

Tapas are small Spanish savory appetizers, commonly served after work and before dinner, and often served with wine.  In this video Jose makes two for us, the first with marinated olives, herbs and citrus.   The second tapa is a grilled bread rubbed and infused with grated vine ripe tomatoes, called “pa amb tomàquet”, or “bread in tomato” in Catalan, topped with anchovies and garocha (an aged goat cheese).

“When I would tell people I work in a tapas place (referring to his first DC tapas restaurant) I don’t know if it was my accent — they would think topless. . . . Everyone would look at me very weird,” said Jose in a David Letterman interview.  In the PBS show, Jose says, “I am from Spain, but my family and I have made America our home. For the last 17 years, I have been cooking Spanish food in Washington, DC.  Now, I want to show you how to bring the taste of Spain into your kitchen.  Everyone’s talking about Spain’s food and wine.  You and I together will discover why.”

What we love about this?   These tapas are super easy, fun, authentic latin fare, and perfect for any party or pre-party.

Read on for the recipe

Olives marinated in an orange and thyme-infused olive oil

From his cookbook “Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America” by Jose Andres with Richard Wolffe

Serves 4

1 orange
1 lemon
4 garlic cloves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (Jose uses an olive oil from his region in Spain called Siurana)
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound olives (in the video Jose uses gordal, manzanilla, arbequina, and black empeltre olives)

Using a vegetable peeler, remove 1/4 of the zest from the orange and lemon, and set aside. Cut the orange in half, and juice it. Peel the garlic cloves, and press with the flat side of a knife blade to split. In a large bowl, combine the orange and lemon zest, orange juice, garlic, oil, vinegar, thyme and salt. Add the olives and mix well. Marinate for at least 12 hours, covered, and serve at room temperature. (Video note: he mentions that 5 days of the mixture is delicious, take some time if you have it!)

Although not necessary, in the video, Jose adds delicious buttery Marcona almonds at the end before serving.