How To Add Kalamata Olives To Homemade Vinaigrettes For A Burst Of Zesty Flavor

Utilizing homemade vinaigrette dressing on salads and vegetables is a wonderful way to balance and sweeten the taste of fresh greens. If you'd like to enhance your vinaigrette, add a burst of flavor by blending it with Kalamata olives. Kalamata olives possess a slightly briny taste that works well with tanginess of vinegar infused dressing, which softens the salty flavor while highlighting the fruitiness of the olives.

Olives are a staple of many world cuisines, especially Greek and Mediterranean, and their sweetness combined with saltiness is a great addition to many foods. There are numerous varieties of olives, such as the recognizable green and black olives, which are often the same fruit picked at different levels of ripeness and processed differently. Olives aren't eaten fresh, but must be cured to be flavorful.

Kalamata olives were originally grown in the Messinia region of southern Greece, named for the city of Kalamata. They are only picked when fully ripe, thus making them a velvety purple-black color and a bit larger than black olives.

The technique for making a Kalamata olive-based vinaigrette is simple. Olives are a stone fruit, so check them to make sure they are pitted, as they can be sold with or without pits. Once you've made the basic mixture of oil and vinegar in a recommended ratio, simply chop the pitted Kalamata olives and whisk them into your dressing. No need to use a blender, just give the olives a rough chop and mix them in. Adding this one special ingredient will add a wonderful layer of texture and complexity to your dressing.

You can vary the combinations of ingredients in your vinaigrette to make it unique and flavorful. Consider creating recipes that include honey and mustard, lemon and garlic, and apple cider vinegar. There are also numerous herbs that will balance out your dressing as well, including basil or oregano. All of these go well with the slightly bitter greens such as Belgian endive, romaine, arugula, or other varieties.

All of these dressings can benefit from the addition of Kalamata olives. These tasty and versatile fruits will imbue each style of vinaigrette with a zesty dimension that's hard to beat!