Green olives are marinated in a herb, garlic, walnut and pomegranate paste to create an incredible and deliciously tangy appetiser.
Origins of Zeytoon Parvardeh
This delightful appetiser heralds from Gilan Province in the North of Iran, a region I visited in my mid twenties and one my family has become more familiar with over the last 20 years. Gilan Province lies along the Caspian Sea bordering Russia. The Province is lush and green with many delicious dishes, particularly vegetarian, originating from the Province, including Mirza Ghasemi (smoked aubergines and eggs) and Baghali Ghatogh (eggs with broad beans and dill).
What are the Ingredients?
The North of Iran loves walnuts and pomegranates and a number of their dishes use this combination including Zeytoon Parvardeh.
The ingredients are olives; pomegranate juice, molasses and arils; walnuts; garlic; and a herb called chuchagh. Chuchagh is a rare herb and is found in certain areas In Iran. In order to emulate its flavour for this dish we replace it with mint in the UK. I have also added a bit of coriander and parsley to my recipe.
I use large pitted green olives like gordal or karyatis olives. By using pitted olives, it allows for the marinade to seep into the olives and also makes it easier to eat them.T he flavour profile of this dish is sweet and sour and incredibly moreish.
How to Serve Zeytoon Parvardeh
It is an easy and quick dish to prepare and ideally made the night before so that the flavours blend and intensify. I often make a small bowl of this appetiser and slowly work my way through it with cheese and crackers – I hasten to add that eating it as an accompaniment with cheese is not authentically Iranian but it works!
Zeytoon Parvardeh can be eaten with pre-dinner drinks (wine, cocktails or hard liquor – whatever you fancy), as part of a mezze-style platter or array of dishes, or with cheese and crackers which is my favourite way to eat it.
Zeytoon Parvardeh
Ingredients
- 7 whole walnuts (or 14 halves)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 10 g fresh mint
- 10 g fresh coriander
- 10 g fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 1 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin preferably)
- 2 tbsp pomegranate juice (squeeze this out of the pomegranate or use 2 tbsp of the arils)
- 350 g large pitted green olives (drained weight approx 160g)
- 1 to 2 tbsp pomegranate arils (to stir through and garnish)
- Ground walnuts (to sprinkle as a garnish)
Instructions
- Add walnuts and garlic to a food processor and blitz until walnuts are finely ground.
- Remove mint leaves from the stems. Remove the tougher parts of the stems from coriander and parsley. Then add herbs to walnut and garlic and pulse in the food processor until finely chopped.
- Add pomegranate molasses, olive oil and the pomegranate juice. Pulse in the food processor until it is a coarse paste.
- Mix the paste with the olives in a bowl. Stir through some pomegranate arils, reserving some for a garnish. Cover and leave in the fridge to marinate (preferably overnight).
- Serve with ground walnuts and pomegranate arils sprinkled on top.
