My mother’s favorite section of Whole Foods is the olive bar, where you will find mounds of olives glistening with oil and herbs and garlic. The only problem with these mountains of olives is that, like everything at Whole Foods, they are overpriced. So here’s a DIY, Indian-inspired way to make that bowl of party olives look and taste a lot more impressive, with dried chiles, bay leaves (which mellow out the saltiness of the olives), and browned garlic cloves that become gloriously sweet and mushy in the pan. If I have leftovers, I like to throw everything in a food processor, and then eat it with pasta, kind of like a lazy puttanesca sauce—just make sure you are using pitted olives if you do that.
Serves 4
1 In a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, add the garlic, and cook until the garlic is fragrant and starts to brown ever so slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the red chiles and bay leaves and cook for another minute. Add the olives and cook until they are warmed through and slightly blistered, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the warmed olives, along with the chiles, bay leaves, and oil, to a serving dish and sprinkle with the red chile flakes. These olives keep, refrigerated in an airtight container, for up to 2 weeks, and can be easily rewarmed in a pan before serving.