Zeytoon Parvardeh - Persian Enriched Olives
Zeytoon Parvardeh is Persian-enriched olives. They are coated in a paste made of fresh herbs, walnuts, garlic and pomegranates. This mouthwatering snack comes from the Gilan province in the north of Iran.
I remember walking through the bazaars of Gilan and Mazandaran, looking at the big buckets full of olives and admiring the abundance of different varieties. In Iran, olives have been grown for the last 2000 years. To this day the city Rudbar is well known for olive farming. The climate of the region, which can be compared to the Mediterranean, makes it ideal for olives to grow. The ancient olive farms are one of the reasons that make Rudbar a popular tourist destination.
Any more olive facts? Green olives are green because they are harvested earlier than black olives. They aren’t ripe when they are picked. The curing process further affects the colour of the olives.
Ok, enough facts. Read on to learn how to prepare these flavoursome marinated olives.
Here is a short video of the cooking process on my Instagram.
Cook the most popular Persian dishes at home with the help of my e-book.
Time
20 minutes
Ingredients for about 300g / 10oz Zeytoon Parvardeh
270g/9.5oz green pitted olives (drained weight)
12 whole walnuts
4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1/2 pomegranate
5 sprigs fresh coriander/cilantro
5 sprigs of fresh mint
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method for preparing Zeytoon Parvardeh
Wash the fresh herbs and transfer them to a small food processor. Add the pomegranate molasses and olive oil to it.
Crush the walnuts and add them to the food processor.
Peel the garlic and add it as well.
Deseed half a pomegranate. Set aside 2 tbsp of pomegranate seeds for the garnish. Add the rest to the other ingredients in the food processor.
Process the ingredients into a coarse paste. You could also crush and combine the ingredients in a pestle and mortar. It’s very therapeutic.
Combine the paste with the olives until all of them are coated in the mixture. Sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds you set aside earlier. You can serve the Zeytoon Parvardeh straight away or keep it in the fridge until it’s time to serve. Enjoy!
I’d love to see your Zeytoon Parvardeh! Feel free to tag me with @igotitfrommymaman on Facebook or Insta so I can take a look and give you a thumbs up!
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