Portofino

While in the peaceful village of Portofino, I extended an olive branch (quite literally) to my long-standing foe, the olive.

I must confess (as much as this may horrify some), olives- pickled, pruned or in any other form (considered desirable to many) have never seduced my taste buds, of course up until now. And I do have a holiday in Portofino to thank for this long lasting camaraderie between me and my newly beloved olives.

Now this may seem like a rather frivolous discussion, but imagine your most unpleasant relative moving in with you. This is exactly how I felt whilst in Portofino, Italy, everywhere I went, and everything I did thrusted an olive in my face! I almost felt marooned on a surreal island called Portofino with only giant olives for company! Again, this may sound rather dramatic, but that was the vengeance with which I hated olives, I would rather be in a pickle than eat ’em pickled.

But in Portofino, my first ice breaker with this fruit, was the most heavenly stuffed olives with cheese and herbs, I think anyone would have tasted (I can assure you that, since it managed to instantly replace hate with love). Now that I had warmed up to the idea of co-existing with the fruit, I decided to know it better, and must admit was rather fascinated with what I found out.

Apart from the almost celestial cheese, in Portofino you will also find olives stuffed with various varieties of meat pastes such as chicken breast, pork, etc. and then fried to perfection. Pods of garlic embraced by green olives are a very common sight.

In Portofino, I decided to plunge into the background of my new found friend, and discovered that to maintain its supremacy over the mediocre quality, the best one’s are hand-picked, so that they are hardly bruised, and plucked only when they are completely ready.

I think my next trip will be to an olive orchard in Portofino, to take this relation to its next level!

Written for Portofino.com by Nicola