Alright, so I’d been seeing these grilled olives around, you know, on menus and stuff, and I figured, why not try it myself? Seemed easy enough, and I love olives. So, this past weekend, I decided to just go for it.
First thing I did was grab a jar of olives I had sitting in the fridge. Nothing super fancy, just some decent green ones. Pitted, of course, because who wants to deal with pits when you’re trying to snack? I poured them into a colander and let all that brine drain away. Gotta get ’em as dry as you can, I reckoned, otherwise they’d just steam on the grill, and that’s not what we’re after.
Once they were drained, I spread them out on some paper towels and patted them down. Then, I tossed them in a bowl. Threw in a glug of olive oil – just enough to coat them, not drown them. Added a good pinch of dried oregano and a few red pepper flakes because I like a little kick. Mixed it all up with my hands, real simple.
Okay, so then it was time for the grill. I’ve got a standard gas grill, nothing special. Fired that sucker up, aimed for a medium-high heat. I didn’t want to cremate them, just get some nice color and smoky flavor. While it was heating, I thought about how to actually cook these little guys. Skewers seemed like a pain, trying to thread each one. So, I grabbed my trusty grill basket – you know, the kind with all the holes. Perfect for small stuff.
Spread the olives out in a single layer in the basket. Once the grill was hot, I plonked the basket right on the grates. Closed the lid, let ’em cook for a few minutes. Then I went back, gave the basket a good shake to roll them around. You gotta keep an eye on them, they can turn black pretty quick if you’re not careful. I kept doing this, shaking and checking, for probably about 7 to 10 minutes. They started to get a little blistered, a little charred in spots – that’s what I was looking for.
When they looked done, I pulled the basket off the grill. They smelled fantastic, that smoky, herby aroma. I just tipped them into a bowl. Honestly, they were great just like that, warm from the grill. We ate them as an appetizer while the rest of the food was cooking. They were definitely a hit, super easy to do, and a nice change from just plain olives.
Would I do it again? Absolutely. Maybe next time I’ll try a squeeze of lemon juice over them right at the end, or some fresh herbs. But even just plain and simple, they were a winner. So yeah, if you’re grilling, give it a shot. It’s barely any extra work and pretty rewarding.
