With a knife, shave a very small bit off the bottom of each olive so they are able to stand on end. Be careful not to shave too much as to expose the hollow interior.
2.
Place butter, anchovies, herbs, lemon zest, and salt in the food processor. Mix on high speed until well combined, stopping to scrape down the sides.
3.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a small tip with the butter mixture. Pipe the mixture into each of the cold olives.
4.
Refrigerate. Remove olives from the refrigerator 30 minutes before you are ready to serve to allow the butter to soften. Garnish with additional herbs.
Ingredients
40 pitted Castelvetrano olives or other large olive, rinsed, patted dry, and cold
½ cup/1 stick unsalted butter, softened
4 anchovy fillets, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh chive, parsley, tarragon, and/or chervil, plus more for garnish if desired
Zest of ½ a lemon
¼ teaspoon salt
Cook's Notes
Simple preparations, done well, have a big effect. This is one of those recipes. The buttery flavor of bright, big Castelvestro olives is matched with a herb and umami-packed compound butter.
During these warm summer months, we have been serving olives stuffed with anchovy herb butter when our guests arrive with a chilled glass of rosé.