Olives are stuffed with a simple beef and pork filling and fried for a more substantial snack in this recipe from Abruzzo winemaker Emidio Pepe's wife, Rosa. Featured in: The Road to Abruzzo
Find this recipe in our cookbook, SAVEUR: Italian Comfort Food
Ingredients
- 12 oz. (about 40) Castelvetrano olives (wholefoods.com)
- 3 oz. ground beef
- 2 oz. ground pork
- 2 tbsp. grated parmesan
- 1⁄4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 whole egg
- 1 lemon, zest finely grated
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Canola Oil, for frying
- 2 tbsp. whole milk
- 1 1⁄2 cups bread crumbs
- 1⁄2 cup flour
Instructions
Step 1
Pit olives by lightly crushing them individually with the flat side of a chef's knife; discard pits, leaving olives as intact as possible. Mix beef, pork, parmesan, nutmeg, yolk, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Divide mixture into forty 1⁄2 tsp. balls. Stuff 1 ball of meat mixture into each olive; press olive around filling to seal.
Step 2
Heat 2″ oil in a 4-qt. saucepan until a deep-fry thermometer reads 375°. Whisk whole egg and milk in a bowl. Place bread crumbs and flour in separate bowls. Working in batches, roll olives in flour, dip in egg mixture, and coat in bread crumbs; fry until crisp and filling is cooked through, 3–4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer olives to paper towels; season with salt.
- Pit olives by lightly crushing them individually with the flat side of a chef's knife; discard pits, leaving olives as intact as possible. Mix beef, pork, parmesan, nutmeg, yolk, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Divide mixture into forty 1⁄2 tsp. balls. Stuff 1 ball of meat mixture into each olive; press olive around filling to seal.
- Heat 2″ oil in a 4-qt. saucepan until a deep-fry thermometer reads 375°. Whisk whole egg and milk in a bowl. Place bread crumbs and flour in separate bowls. Working in batches, roll olives in flour, dip in egg mixture, and coat in bread crumbs; fry until crisp and filling is cooked through, 3–4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer olives to paper towels; season with salt.
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