MORROCCAN SPICED OLIVES

      Title: MORROCCAN SPICED OLIVES
  Categories: Moroccan, Appetizers
       Yield: 6 Servings
  
       1 c  Olives purchased from deli
            -or Middle Eastern grocery
            -(green
  
   Yield: 1 cup
   
   Olives are often served as part of the Middle Eastern appetizer
   assortment called mezze or mazza that is brought to your table with
   your wine, ouzo, or arak. Anything can turn up as part of a mezze
   selection: octopus dressed in olive oil and lemon, chunks of feta
   cheese or salami on small pieces of bread, or a plate of creamy, tart
   hummus. Olives, brined, salted, or marinated, are almost always on
   one of the little plates.
   
   Middle Eastern marketplaces feature huge vats and crocks of
   differently spiced olives in myriad array. Some are fleshy, some
   juicy, others bitter and dense, and each is in a subtly different
   mainade. The marinade in this recipe is good for almost any type of
   olive; it is especially delicious with green brined olives or fleshy
   Greek-style ones (it even improves California-style ripe Olives).
   
   brine-cured, Kalamata, Greek-style, or shriveled black dry-cured) 1/4
   cup olive oil 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves,
   lightly crushed 1 1/2 tsp Aji Harissa, Berbere, or commercial
   chile-garlic paste
         1    tbsp wine vinegar
   
   1.  Drain olives of any brine.
   
   2.  Slowly heat olive oil over low heat. Remove from heat and add
   garlic, rosemary, chile-garlic paste, and vinegar.
   
   3.  Pour marinade over olives and let stand at least 2 hours (the
   flavor gets hotter the longer it stands).
   
   ADVANCE PREPRATION:  Lasts almost forever, covered and refrigerated
   
   VARIATION:  A Mediterranean-inspired hors d'oeuvre.
   
   4 ounces Montrachet or Leazay goat cheese 1 to 2 cloves garlic,
   chopped 1 tsp finely chopped cilantro (optional) 1 tsp medium salsa
   (or to taste) 1/2 tsp thyme 1 tsp olive oil Approximately 1/2 a
   French baguette, cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices Morroccan Spiced
   Olives
   
   1.  Mash goat cheese with a fork.  Add garlic, cilantro, salsa,
   thyme, and olive oil.
   
   2.  Spread goat cheese mixture on bread slices; top each with half a
   pitted marinated olive.
   
   RECOMMENDED WINE:  Enjoy with a glass of a medium-bodied Cabernet
   Sauvignon with noticeable character, one from California, Chile, or
   Spain.
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