I know it has been forever and a day 🙂 but in my defence, it was 2020!
I am going to spare you all the 2020 stories and drama for today because I really want to get this post out there. I have been postponing it for weeks! questioning the choice of recipe, the intro, the pictures and everything in between! I do hope that you guys enjoy olives as much as I do, if not, I promise there is a lineup of great recipes coming your way, so please do stay tuned 🙂

For today, I am sharing my mum’s green olives, lemon, mixed peppers and walnut salad/preserves. What better way to get back in the saddle than with a tried and true recipe that has been a family favourite for generations?

You can enjoy this salad with some warm bread or crackers for a quick lunch on a busy day. It is a great addition to sandwiches or snack boards and it is one of my secret weapons for levelling up pasta, tuna salads or mixed greens. The best part is that you can prepare a big batch and store it in the fridge and it will last for weeks thanks to the olive oil.

Olive salad
2 cups pitted chopped pickled green olives
2 cups bell pepper cut into 1 cm squares
1 cup crushed walnuts
1 cup peeled and chopped lemon or lime
1.5 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons shatta (hot pepper paste) optional
Olive oil
Salt

1.Place the peppers in a colander, sprinkle with salt place the colander in a bowl. Leave in the fridge overnight. (The idea is to reduce the water content of the peppers. This will give your preserves a longer shelf life)
2. Mix the olives, pepper, lemon,walnuts and shatta.
3. Place the mix in jars
4. Add enough oil to submerge the mix
5.Close and store in the fridge.

Notes:

If you plan on making a big batch of this salad, my advice is to mix everything except for the chopped lemon and proceed with the recipe as written without them. At the time of serving or the night before, add the lemons. This will retain the freshness of the lemons giving your salad more zing and it will also help your salad to last longer.