Carved olive garnish

As a garnish for the caponata (http://seabirdskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/01/caponata.html)

I thought it would be fun to lay out some leaves (basil and cilantro) and then have some carved olives formed into the shape of rabbits.

The end result was much admired.

The best olives to use are kalamatas - you want to choose a kind of olive that has plenty of flesh and a pit that doesn't go all the way to the end. To make a rabbit, slice a sliver off the edge of the olive, leaving a flat surface for it to rest on, Cut a v-shaped notch at one end of the sliver. This will leave the piece that will become the ears. At the non-stem end of the olive, cut a slit across the olive, all the way through to the pit. Place the cut sliver into this slit so that the points of the ears are sticking up.