Warm Balsamic, Shallot & Thyme Olives with Crispy Prosciutto

🫒 Warm Balsamic, Shallot & Thyme Olives with Crispy Prosciutto

Serves 6–8 as an appetizer

This one is deep, savoury, a little sweet, and very cocktail-hour-ish. I’d use mostly green olives so that gorgeous dark balsamic glaze shows against them.

You’ll need:

• 3 cups mixed green olives — Castelvetrano plus Cerignola would be wonderful

• ¼ cup excellent extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 large shallot, very thinly sliced

• 2 garlic cloves, lightly smashed

• 4–5 fresh thyme sprigs

• 2 wide strips of lemon peel

• ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1½ tablespoons good aged balsamic vinegar

• 2 thin slices prosciutto

• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

• A little flaky salt, if needed

Make the crispy prosciutto:Lay the prosciutto on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake at 375°F for about 8–10 minutes, until crisp. Cool, then break it into beautiful little shards.

For the olives:Warm the olive oil over low heat. Add the shallot, garlic, thyme, lemon peel and Aleppo pepper. Let everything soften and perfume the oil for about 4 minutes without browning.

Add the olives and warm gently for another 5–7 minutes.

Take the pan off the heat and then stir in the balsamic. That's important — we want its lovely sweet-tart character rather than cooking it away.

Transfer everything to a shallow serving bowl, including those gorgeous shallots and lemon peels. Scatter over the toasted pine nuts and crispy prosciutto just before serving.

👩‍🍳 Trisha's little trick

Don't add the prosciutto until the very last second. You want that wonderful contrast of warm silky olives + sweet balsamic shallots + salty CRUNCH.

And serve these with little cocktail picks and a pile of good bread nearby, because that balsamic-herb olive oil at the bottom of the bowl is going to cause fights. 😂