Olives from Ascoli (olive alla Ascolana)

This is a traditional stuffed olive recipe we made back home in Ascoli. It was a family tradition and it’s a pretty fiddly recipe, so the whole family would get involved and we’d make a day of it, often making hundreds at a time. Poh & Co. 2

• makes

  200

• prep

  1:30 hour

• cook

  1:20 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1.5kg large green Sicilian olives
• vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• lemon wedges, to serve

Stuffing

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ½ celery stalk, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp finely chopped basil
• 250 g veal fillet, cut into 5 cm pieces
• 250 g pork fillet, cut into 5 cm pieces
• 1 chicken breast fillet, cut into 5 cm pieces
• 250 ml (1 cup) white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• sea salt and black pepper
• ½ tsp grated nutmeg
• 40 g (½ cup) finely grated parmesan
• 1 egg

Crumbing

• 225 g (1½ cups) plain flour
• 4 eggs
• 125 ml (½ cup) lemon juice
• 40 g (½ cup) finely grated parmesan
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• sea salt and black pepper
• 400 g fine dried breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

Cut the olives in a spiral direction to remove the pits, taking care to keep the olives in one piece so they can be stuffed. Rinse the olives under cold running water, then set aside.

For the stuffing, heat the olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat, then add the onion, garlic, celery and basil and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Increase the heat to high, then add the veal, pork and chicken and cook for 5 minutes or until browned. Reduce the heat to low and add the wine and bay leaf and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or until the meat is cooked and tender. Set the meat mixture aside to cool.

Transfer the cooled meat mixture to a food processor, then process until minced to a smooth consistency. Transfer to a bowl and add the nutmeg, parmesan and egg, then stir until well combined.

Stuff the pitted olives with the meat mixture, placing it in the spiral of each olive and taking care to keep the olives in one piece.

To make the crumbing, place the flour in a bowl and roll the olives to coat well in flour. Place the eggs, lemon juice, parmesan, garlic and salt and pepper to taste in a second bowl and whisk to combine. Place the breadcrumbs and parsley in a third bowl.

Working in batches, place the floured olives in the egg mixture, draining off any excess, then place in the breadcrumbs to coat, pressing the breadcrumbs around the olives.

Heat vegetable oil for deep-frying in a large heavy-based frying pan over high heat and, working in batches if necessary so as not to crowd the pan, deep-fry the olives for 2–3 minutes or until golden. Drain on paper towel.

Serve with lemon wedges.

Photography, styling and food preparation by china squirrel.

Poh & Co. 2 Thursdays at 8.30pm on SBS.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.