green olives with anchovies

Green olives with anchovies for a Basque aperitif

Maison Ederki's green olives with anchovies are crisp Manzanilla olives filled with an anchovy farce. Firm to the bite, fruity and salty, with the umami of the Cantabrian Sea. A classic Basque aperitif, just like you find on every bar counter in San Sebastián.

Green olives with anchovies are stuffed Manzanilla olives from Maison Ederki, the Basque delicatessen based in Mouguerre near Bayonne. The Manzanilla, whose name means "little apple," is green, crisp, and firm to the bite. At their center is a delicate anchovy farce – a meeting of mild olive flesh and the salty depth of the sea.

In the jar, the green olives with anchovies shine a grassy green, plumply filled in their slightly cloudy brine. The scent alone is savory and salty, reminiscent of the sea and a Mediterranean herb garden. This is exactly how a good aperitif begins in the Basque Country.

Crisp, fruity, with a salty core

With the first bite, the olive snaps, then comes the salt: the anchovy filling adds a savory, slightly fishy depth to the mild olive flesh.

The Manzanilla is the classic Spanish aperitif olive: small, oval, with a firm skin and firm flesh—just firm enough to hold a filling without becoming soft. The anchovies come from the Cantabrian Sea, which is famous for its fine anchovies. On the palate, the olive remains juicy, never soft or mushy; the anchovy provides umami and salt, while the olive offers its fine fruity acidity—two characters that complement each other perfectly.

For a cool aperitif with a glass of Txakoli

Served cold from the jar, as an aperitif with a glass of Txakoli or a dry white wine, these olives are in their element.

In San Sebastián, you would get them served as a pintxo, skewered next to a Guindilla and an anchovy—in a city that, with its three-star restaurants, ranks among Europe’s top culinary destinations. During a txikiteo (bar crawl), you move from bar to bar, a small glass here, a bite there, and a bowl of olives is almost always present.

They also pair beautifully with lemon and cumin in a colorful salad, with rice, or in a tagine. If you purée them with a little olive oil, these stuffed olives become a savory tapenade for bread. Once opened, if kept covered in brine, they will stay good in the refrigerator for about a week. You can find more Basque antipasti and preserves right next door.

Basque delicacies from Mouguerre since 1942

Maison Ederki has been gathering the best of the Basque Country and bottling it since 1942—that’s over 80 years—from aperitifs to desserts. The small company, with about 18 employees, is located in Mouguerre, a village above the Adour River near Bayonne.

Ederki is not an industrial operation; it works hand-in-hand with local farmers, fishermen, and producers. The Manzanilla olives are sourced from Spain and are stuffed and pickled in the Basque style. Everything that goes into the jar is quality-checked before and after, and because they buy fresh daily, the journey from harvest to bottling remains short.

We have put together more specialties from Maison Ederki for you—the Basques truly know how to celebrate an aperitif.

Net weight 300g – Drained weight 130g

Content 300g – Drained weight 130g