Baked Olives

Ingredients

• 2 cups mixed oil-cured olives (delicious options include Amfissa, Kalamata, and Sicilian, but it's good to experiment too, make sure to rinse and dry them)
• 2/3 cup dry white wine (try using a Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris)
• 1/4 cur extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic (sliced, Goodfellas style)
• 3 tablespoons fresh Italian flat parley (minced)
• 2 leaves fresh basil, minced)
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 5 whole black peppercorn (freshly ground)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In baking dish, arrange the olives in a single layer.
3. In a small mixing bowl combine the wine, lemon zest, and two tablespoons of the olive oil. Mix thoroughly and pour over the olives.
4. Tightly cover the dish, and put in the middle rack of the oven.
5. Bake until you can smell the goodness. About 45 minutes for a wonderful fragrance. The olive should be plump from absorbing the wine. Most, but not all of the liquid should have "disappeared."
6. In a mortar and pestle (or food processor, but it's better the manual way), combine the garlic, parsley, basil, chili flakes and one tablespoon of olive oil. Mash it into a paste.
7. In a medium mixing bowl, lightly toss the still warm olive with the paste.
8. Seal the bowl with plastic wrap and let the olives marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
9. Before serving, take the olives out of the refrigerator and let them warm to room temperature.