About
Gordal means fat in Spanish, and it is the largest olive the country grows commercially. Perelló takes the stone out and packs them in brine with pieces of guindilla chilli, so the heat is obvious without flattening the olive. Crisp, firm and meaty enough to eat standing at the fridge.
The fruit grows around Seville, in Andalusia, where Gordal is the big green table olive. The flesh is crisp and firm rather than soft, which is why it survives having the stone pushed out of it. The brine is salted and sharpened with citric acid. Pieces of guindilla chilli sit in it and lend a steady low heat to every olive.
Gaspar Perelló learned to pick out olives at Alcalá de Guadaíra. By 1964 he was curing and packing his own for the stalls of Barcelona's Boqueria market. His wife María Ribó ran the business alongside him.
Serve them cold, tipped into a bowl, with a beer or something dry and chilled. They are also good chopped through a potato salad or a plate of roasted peppers.
Producer note
Perelló started as a curing and packing operation selling to vendors at Barcelona's Boqueria market in 1964. The London importer who found that stand in the early 1990s has run the brand since the founders retired.
Flavour
Pairs with