Marche food
Typical Recipe
OLIVE ALL'ASCOLANA

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ITALIAN WINES
AND FOODS
 

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photo (c) Paolo Marini www.fotomarche.com
 

Olive all'Ascolana

Stuffed olives Ascoli style

     Preparation

To prepare olive all'Ascolana: finely dice the veal, crumble the sausage, and sauté them in the butter. When they have browned, sprinkle the wine over them, let it evaporate, stir in the diced lard, and continue sautéing gently for 5-10 minutes (you want the meat to brown but not burn). Stir in the broth and simmer for five minutes, then remove the meats to a bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pot.

Stir two heaping tablespoons of the bread crumbs into the drippings. Grind the meat mixture and combine it with the breadcrumbs you stirred into the drippings, then lightly beat one of the eggs and work it into the filling too, with the parsley, grated cheese, and nutmeg. Check seasoning and let the filling rest for a half hour.

Pit the olives if they weren't already pitted, and fill them. The easiest way to do this is to put the filling in a pastry bag or syringe of the kind used for frosting, with a fairly fine nozzle, and squirt the filling into the holes.

Lightly beat the remaining egg. Roll the filled olives in flour, then in the egg, and then in the bread crumbs. Fry them in abundant oil for 15-20 minutes, drain them well, and serve them.

Note: though De Agostini warns not to use too much cheese they forgot to include cheese in the ingredient list. Another recipe for Olive all'Ascolana calls for 3 cups (150 g) for close to three times as much meat, so the quantity given here should be about right.

photo (c) Paolo Marini
www.fotomarche.com

A bit of history.

The recipe derives from the Ascoli region, and 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, when they were eagerly sought out by the gourmands of the Eternal City. This recipe is however more recent, dating to the 17th century. Though they're generally classified as an antipasto, it will also work well as a first course, or as part of a platter of mixed fried foods.

This recipe is drawn from De Agostini's La Mia Cucina; the authors warn not to overstuff the olives lest the stuffing expand as it cooks and split the olives, and also warn that the oil should be hot but not smoking, lest the outsides of the olives burn before the stuffing is done. If you do decide to taste one to test for doneness have a glass of water handy because the inside could still be quite hot even if you have blown on it.