PROVENCAL MARINATED BLACK OLIVES (about 2 cups, serving 12)

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

5 bay leaves

2 large garlic cloves. peeled green shoots removed, thinly sliced

strips of rind from 1 lemon

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

2 cups imported black olives (about ¾ pound, green olives could be substituted or mixed)

1. Combine the olive oil, vinegar, bay leaves and garlic in a small saucepan and heat just until warm over low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon rind, thyme, rosemary and fennel seeds.

2. Place the olives in a wide mouth jar and pour in the olive mixture. Shake the jar to coat the olives. Refrigerate for two hours or for up to two weeks. Shake the jar a few times daily to redistribute the seasonings.

from Martha Rose Shulman, the New York Times, December 17, 2012, based on a recipe in Patricia Wells’  The Provence Cookbook