Olive Appetizer Recipes

Dried herbs and crushed garlic dress up your favorite olives.

Marinating olives in aromatic herbs and a touch of lemon zest is an ideal way to enhance their flavor. Throughout the Mediterranean, bowls of them are routinely set out as appetizers or as a simple lunch with bread and perhaps some cheese or fruit. While a selection of olives of varying sizes, colors and cures is the most interesting, you can also simply use the one or two kinds most readily available.

Portobello caps make excellent mini casseroles. Here, they hold a tomato, cheese and olive stuffing that grills up to a smoky perfection. Serve them with whole-wheat couscous and a mixed green salad for an easy meal.

In this easy appetizer recipe, olives are marinated (cunzate) to present as an antipasto. Try this with the plain green olives you buy from a supermarket olive bar. It will bring them to life in a whole new way

This olive-and-goat-cheese-stuffed cherry tomato recipe makes a great pop-in-your-mouth appetizer. Scooping out the insides to stuff the tomato can be a little tricky without the right tool--a 1/4-teaspoon measuring spoon works very well for the job.

Serve this simple but unique spread with zucchini or cucumber rounds or fire-toasted thin baguette slices.

Chilies, cranberries, kumquats and fresh mint add festive color and flavor to your favorite black and green olives.

Give this childhood treat a savory twist by swapping the peanut butter and raisins for cream cheese and olives. For a spicy snack, try chopped pickled jalapenos instead of olives.

Olives and feta marinated with rosemary, lemon and garlic are great served on crisp flatbread-style crackers or warm slices of crusty baguette.

Orange zest, caraway and cumin add an unexpected Moroccan twist to this quick olive marinade.

Fragrant rosemary and lemon infuse cracked green olives in this quick appetizer.

This zesty spin on standard tomato salsa includes sliced green olives and hot pepper relish. Serve as a dip with toasted pita chips or spoon over grilled fish or chicken.

This makes a great finish for baked or broiled fish, or serve with Mediterranean Burgers.

Use this spiced black bean-and-olive filling to stuff tamales or combine with sauteed chard in tacos.

The relish is great on chicken, veal, salmon or pasta as well as the tuna. Serve with grilled vegetables and steamed new potatoes.

When you need an easy, make-ahead hors d'oeuvre, just toss olives with dried oregano and garlic.

Salty olives and fresh rosemary turn prepared pizza dough into a terrific bread to serve with soup or salad.

This salad makes an excellent sandwich filling or spread for crackers.

Try spreading this tangy tapende on crostini or pipe into cherry tomatoes (after slicing off the stem ends and seeding them). For a great sandwich, fill a lettuce-lined pita pocket with tapenade and sliced hard-cooked eggs.

Along the French Riviera, this black-olive spread invariably contains an anchovy or two, but you may do without.