Spiced olives

Making these olives to serve at a party? You can prepare this recipe up to 3 days ahead – just refrigerate, covered, until you're ready to serve. Bring the olives to room temperature 30 minutes before the guests start arriving. The flavors of orange zest, rosemary, and fennel, plus the heat of the red pepper flakes make these olives a perfect nibble to serve with cocktails. Keep a batch in the fridge and you'll always be ready if guests pop by. To easily cut the peel from oranges without including the bitter white pith, use a good-quality Y-shaped vegetable peeler. A sharp paring knife can also be used. If any pith comes along with the peel, carefully use the sharp paring knife to cut it away from the peel and discard.