Recipe of the Month

    OLIVE ALL'ASCOLANA
("Truffles, Wine & Cooking in Le Marche" Tour)

  As one might guess from the name, Olive all'Ascolana are from Ascoli, in the Marches. They are among the best-known Italian stuffed olives, and booths selling them at fairs are invariably mobbed.

If at all possible you should use olives of the Ascolana strain, which are large, green and mild, and were already renowned in Roman times, though the recipe for transforming them into stuffed olives is more recent, dating to the 17th century. Though they're generally classified as an antipasto, they're a superb finger food and will also work well as a first course, or as part of a platter of mixed fried foods.

Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

• A pound (400 g) of very large mild olives, packed in brine (r)
• 4 ounces (100 g) fresh mild pork sausage
• 4 ounces (100 g) ground veal
• 1/2 cup meat broth (bouillon is fine)
• 2 ounces (50 g) diced cured lard (buy this from a delicatessen, or use pancetta or prosciutto fat)
• 10 ounces (250 g) fine bread crumbs (this will be about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup (50 g) freshly grated Parmigiano
• 2 eggs

 Instructions:

1. Pit olives if you didn't buy them already pitted.
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Remove the casing and crumble the sausage into the skillet.  Cook for several minutes until browned.  Add the wine, scraping up the little bits from the bottom of the pan.  Cook for about 5 minutes until most of the wine has evaporated.  Add in the beef broth and cook another 5 minutes.  Remove the sausage to a bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan.
3. Using a meat grinder or a food processor, grind the meat. 
4. Removing the pan from the heat, add 1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs to the drippings in the pan.  Return the meat to the pan as well.  Add the parmigiano cheese and 1 egg (beaten) to the pan.  Combine together to make the stuffing mixture for the olives.  Let the mixture rest for a bit to cool.
5. Once cool, stuff each olive with some of the sausage mixture.  Don't over stuff the olives or they may break apart. 
6. Set up a breading station.  Make 1 plate of the flour, 1 bowl of the remaining egg, and 1 plate of the remaining breadcrumb.  Coat each olive in flour, then in egg, and finally in breadcrumbs.
7. Heat the oil to a medium heat.  Don't make it to hot or it will burn the olives.  Once the oil is hot, fry the olives (in batches, depending on the size of your pot) just until they are a golden brown color.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the olives from the oil to a paper towel to drain them.  Let the olives cool a little before serving.

Credits:

cucinadibella.typepad.com

http://italianfood.about.com