Smoked Sun-Dried Kalamata Olives
Sweet, smoky, and utterly unlike anything from a jar.
If you’ve only ever met a Kalamata olive swimming in overpowering brine, you’re in for a revelation. Our Applewood-Smoked Sun-Dried Kalamata Olives are a completely different creature.
What Sun-Drying Does to an Olive
The sun-drying process is the quiet hero of this olive’s story. As moisture slowly leaves the fruit, the natural sugars concentrate and come forward. The result is an olive with a notably sweet, almost jammy depth — rich and full-bodied, but never cloying.
Where a brine-cured olive leads with salinity, our sun-dried Kalamata leads with fruit. The brininess is there, but it’s gentle and well in the background — more of a soft, savoury finish than an opening note.
The Applewood Smoke
Once sun-dried, the olives are cold-smoked with applewood — a choice made deliberately for its mellow, slightly sweet character. Applewood doesn’t bully. It doesn’t overwhelm the fruit the way a heavier wood like hickory or mesquite would. Instead, it deepens the flavour without masking it.
Think of it like the difference between a campfire and a hearth. Both are smoke. Only one belongs in your kitchen.
Recipe
Kalamata Olive Mediterranean Rice Bowl
with Herbed Rice, Roasted Vegetables & Lemon Tahini
This is the kind of bowl that makes dinner easy and nutritious with leftovers that are amazing for lunch the next day. Herbed basmati rice forms the base, topped with roasted vegetables, a creamy lemon tahini dressing, and a generous scatter of our Smoked Sun-Dried Kalamata olives. Their concentrated sweetness and gentle smoke cut right through the richness of the tahini and pull everything together. Serves 4.
Ingredients
• 1½ cups basmati rice
• 1 cup Applewood-Smoked Sun-Dried Kalamata Olives, pitted and roughly torn
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, halved and sliced into half-moons
• 1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and olive oil
• For the lemon tahini: ¼ cup tahini, juice of 1 lemon, 1 small garlic clove (grated), 2–3 tbsp water, salt to taste
Pit removal: Press each olive firmly with the flat of a knife until it splits, then lift out the pit. Leave the olives whole or tear them in half .
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Rinse the basmati rice until the water runs clear, then cook according to package instructions. Once done, fluff with a fork and stir through a handful of chopped fresh parsley or mint and a drizzle of olive oil. Keep warm.
2. Toss the zucchini, red pepper, cherry tomatoes, and chickpeas on a large baking sheet with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Spread in a single layer and roast for 22–25 minutes, turning once halfway, until the vegetables are caramelized at the edges and the chickpeas are slightly crisp.
3. While the vegetables roast, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, grated garlic, and water until smooth and pourable. It should be the consistency of a loose dressing — add water a tablespoon at a time if needed. Season with salt and taste; it should be bright and nutty with a good hit of lemon.
4. To assemble: spoon the herbed rice into wide bowls. Pile the roasted vegetables and chickpeas on top. Scatter over the Kalamata olives generously. Drizzle the lemon tahini over everything.
5. Finish with an extra drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of smoked paprika, and fresh herbs if you have them. Taste before adding salt — the Kalamata olives bring their own seasoning. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Cook’s Notes
Make it a meal prep: The roasted vegetables, rice, and tahini all keep well separately in the fridge for up to 4 days. Assemble to order and add the olives fresh each time.
Swap the grain: Farro, freekeh, or couscous all work beautifully in place of basmati rice. Farro in particular pairs well with the smoky olives.
Pair with: A glass of dry rosé or a crisp Assyrtiko from Santorini. Warm pita on the side. A good mood helps too.