Olives Trencades Mallorquines

Olives trencades are Balearic, especially Mallorcan: hard green olives struck once to split the flesh, soaked until the fierce bitterness softens, then held in brine with fonoll, wild fennel, lemon and pebre de cirereta, the island's small hot pepper. Valencia has its own cracked olives, but the fennel-led jar here belongs to the Balearic table. These aren't bought olives with seasoning stirred through them. The curing is the dish.

The step that decides them is the daily change of fresh water. Cracking opens the flesh so the water can carry away its harshness. Leave that water standing and the bitterness simply moves out of the olive and waits beside it. Change it every twenty-four hours, then stop when the olive has one clean bitter edge left. Wash out every trace and you wash out its character with it.

Fresh Mallorcan olives are difficult to find far from the islands. Use untreated green Manzanilla or Hojiblanca olives straight from the harvest. Manzanilla stays firm but tastes a little milder and less grassy. Jarred olives won't do for this recipe because they've already been cured. No hace falta haber pisado España, but you do need raw fruit.

Give the packed olives a full week in the cold brine before judging them. The Margin beside this recipe says, simply, leave a little bitterness. That's the balance between the fruit, salty brine, lemon peel and fennel. Siempre sale, si lo sigues: it turns out if you follow it.