What to use instead of green olives
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Briny punctuation in a stew or braise
Each one is a pocket of ferment salt and acid that survives an hour of simmering, which is what keeps a heavy braise from tasting flat and fatty.
Capers, rinsedRan out
2 tbsp capers per 1/2 cup sliced olives
Sharper and more floral, and the salt is more concentrated, so rinse them and taste before adding any to the pot.
Kalamata or other black olivesRan out
1:1 by volume
Softer, fruitier and much less sharp, and they bleed purple-grey into a pale sauce. Add them in the last 15 minutes to hold their shape.
Chopped preserved lemon rindRan out
2 tbsp chopped rind per 1/2 cup olives
The tagine answer. More perfume and more salt with none of the fatty pop, so the dish reads brighter and thinner.
Giardiniera or pickled jalapenos, choppedRan out
1:1 by volume, drained
Brings vinegar heat alongside the salt, so the braise goes sharper at the front. Cut the recipe vinegar if it has any.
Sliced pepperonciniRan out
1:1 by volume, patted dry
Vinegary and softer with milder salt, and they collapse into the sauce after 30 minutes rather than staying whole.
What doesn't work: Canned black California olives. They are lye-cured and packed in plain brine with no ferment behind them, so they add a soft texture and almost nothing else. The dish still tastes flat with a cup of them in it.
Firm salty pieces inside a hand pie or stuffed filling
They keep their shape against a hot filling and season it from the inside, balancing the sweetness of raisins and sofrito without adding liquid.
CapersRan out
2 tbsp per 1/3 cup chopped olives
Smaller, so the salt is spread more evenly through every bite instead of hitting in pockets. Sharper and more floral.
Pickled red onions, drained and choppedRan out
1:1 by volume, squeezed dry
Sweeter and crunchier, and they tint the filling pink. Squeeze them hard or the pastry seam leaks.
Chopped pepperoncini or pickled banana peppersRan out
1:1 by volume, patted dry
Juicier and milder, so the filling tastes more of vinegar than salt. They soften completely in the bake.
What doesn't work: Fresh green pepper or raw onion in their place. Neither carries salt or acid and both are mostly water, so the filling goes wet in the oven and the empanadas split at the crimp.