Ingredients: |
Ingredients: Stuffing:
Approx. 1/2 lb each of pork meat (chop or shoulder), chicken (breast or thigh meat) and veal (chop or steak) cut into small chunks
1/2 celery stalk chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 lb prosciutto (approx.) chopped into small chunks
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper
approx. 1 cup grated romano cheese
1 large egg
Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
Touch of nutmeg
Large jar of jumbo stuffed olives
For breading:
4 eggs beaten in one bowl
Flour and bread crumbs in two separate bowls
Vegetable oil for frying
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Directions: |
Directions:In a large frying pan, add olive oil and heat the pan. Add the onion and celery pieces, prosciutto and 3 types of meat chunks, salt and pepper. Stir well until cooked and slightly browned. Add the tomato paste and stir well. Add wine and let it reduce to a glaze. Remove from heat and let cool.
Spoon the mixture into a food processor and blend very well, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the cheese, egg, lemon zest and nutmeg and continue blending until you have a smooth, uniform puree - about 5 minutes.
Taste a small amount to check the seasoning and adjust. Cover and refrigerate to blend the flavours. Best used the next day or freeze.
For the olives: Slice down one side of the olive, remove the red pepper slice and open the olive. Using your hands or a teaspoon, place a small amount of stuffing in the center of each olive and close the olive with the palm of your hand as if you were trying to shape the olive back into its original shape.
When all the olives are stuffed, dip each olive into flour, then egg, then bread crumbs, rolling each olive in your hands so the breading sticks well to the olives.
Once all the olives are breaded, you can freeze them on a cookie tray and, once frozen, put them in a freezer bag for later use. They should be fried from frozen state - do not thaw. Or, refrigerate for a few hours and then fry them, using a slotted spoon to remove them from the hot oil. Drain them on a plate with paper towels. Enjoy! |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: Olive Ascolani - fried stuffed olives are a trademark of the Marche region of Italy, where John was born. They are made for special occasions such as Christmas and Easter. Making them is truly a labour of love because they take quite a bit of time but worth every minute. Nobody made them better than Nonna Rina, my mother-in-law. She was an amazing cook and everything she made was made with love and time. Roberto and Sandro love them!
I helped my mother-in-law make these a few times but did not have a written recipe since she guessed approximate amounts for everything. Over the years, I've tried to replicate her recipe and get a little bit closer every year but, as the boys say "they are ALMOST like Nonna's!" And that is a compliment!
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