Olive Ascolane (deep-fried stuffed olives)

Name: Olive Ascolane (deep-fried stuffed olives)
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 90
Ingredients: Green olives 26.5 oz; Wild fennel fresh to taste; Beef 10.6 oz; Pork 5.3 oz; Chicken breast 1.8 oz; Carrots ½; Celery ½ stalk; Onions ½; Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese ½ cup; Eggs 1; Cloves 2; Nutmeg to taste; White wine &frac13; cup; Extra virgin olive oil 1 ½ tbsp; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste; Flour 00 to taste; Eggs to taste; Breadcrumbs to taste; Fine salt to taste; Sunflower seed oil to taste

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Lactose Free

Difficulty: Average
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 20 min
Makes: 90 pieces
Cost: Average
Note + 12 hrs of soaking the olives

PRESENTATION

Recipe by
Gabriella Calvaresi di Siamo Fritti

Olive Ascolane (Ascolana-style Olives) are a cherished appetizer originating from Italy, particularly the Ascoli Piceno area in the Marche region. This culinary tradition is deeply rooted in local culture, where entire families gather to craft these delights in large batches. They meticulously prepare, bread, and freeze the olives, ensuring a supply that's ready to be fried and savored at a moment's notice. Ascolana olives are also a popular choice for street food. Among the renowned spots for these treats is "Siamo Fritti" in Ascoli. We had the honor of featuring Gabriella Calvaresi, a revered chef from this establishment, renowned for her authentic preparation of Ascolana olives. The process is captivating: the olives are delicately spiraled open, then filled with a rich, hand-ground meat mixture — Gabriella uses her family's traditional grinder for an authentic touch. Besides the classic recipe, we also present a vegetarian version of Ascolana olives. This alternative is just as enticing, starring the same brined olives but without the meat.

INGREDIENTS

For about 90 olives: Green olives 26.5 oz (750 g); Wild fennel to taste - fresh

For the filling: Beef 10.6 oz (300 g); Pork 5.3 oz (150 g); Chicken breast 1.8 oz (50 g); Carrots ½; Celery ½ stalk; Onions ½; Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese ½ cup (50 g); Eggs 1; Cloves 2; Nutmeg to taste; White wine ⅓ cup (70 g); Extra virgin olive oil 1 ½ tbsp (20 g); Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

For the breading: Flour 00 to taste; Eggs to taste; Breadcrumbs to taste; Fine salt to taste

for frying: Sunflower seed oil to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Olive Ascolane (deep-fried stuffed olives)

To start making Olive Ascolane, first soak the olives for 12 hours in water flavored with fresh fennel 1. Then, prepare the meat for the filling: cut the beef 2 and pork 3 into small pieces.

Cut the chicken breast into pieces as well 4. In a pot, pour in some oil 5, then add the coarsely chopped carrot and celery along with half an onion, into which you've inserted the cloves 6. Let the vegetables sauté for a few minutes.

Then add the beef and pork 7, season with pepper 8, cover with a lid, and cook for about 20 minutes 9.

Now add the chicken breast 10, pour in the wine 11, and add salt 12.

Now cook for an hour with the lid on 13. After that time, turn off the heat and let it cool 14. Remove the cloves from the onion and then pass everything through a meat grinder.

Transfer the ground meat to a bowl, add the grated Parmigiano Reggiano DPO cheese and the egg 16, season with grated nutmeg 17, and mix with your hands until you achieve a uniform mixture 18.

Now, spiral-cut the olives to remove the pit 19 20. Move on to the stuffing process: open up the olives 21.

Stuff the olives with the filling 22 and close them 23 to recreate their original shape 24.

Now, let's move on to the breading process: beat the eggs with salt 25, then coat the stuffed olives first in flour 26, and then dip them into the eggs 27.

Drain to remove any excess egg 28, and then roll the olives in breadcrumbs 29. Place them on a tray 30.

To finish, let's move on to frying: heat the vegetable oil, and when it reaches a temperature of 355°F / 180°C, carefully place the olives 31 into it. Cook them for about 2 minutes, just until they turn golden brown. Then, remove them from the oil and place them on a tray lined with paper towels 32. Serve the olive Ascolane while they are still slightly warm 33!

How to store

We recommend consuming olive Ascolane olives immediately to preserve their crispiness.

It is also possible to bread the stuffed olives and freeze them in their raw state, then fry them directly from frozen when needed.

Tips

The meat grinder allows you to achieve the right consistency for the filling mixture. We advise against using a blender or mixer because it could make the meat overly soft.

In this recipe, the traditional method for pitting the olives was used, but if you prefer, you can use pitted olives.

If you prefer a crunchier texture, you can opt for a double breading technique.