Fried Stuffed Olives from Venice
Olive Farcite
Region: Italy, Veneto
Category: Antipasto, Meze, Tapas, and Hors d'Oeuvres
Season: Any
Difficulty: Labor Intensive

One spring I lived in Venice and regularly ate at the Arsenalbar, a little cafe near the school I went to across from the Arsenale. They served a variety of ciccheti, a Venetian category of small tapas-like foods to be enjoyed with drinks, one of which I was always quite impressed with, but rarely ordered because they were a dollar each. These were large green olives, called olive farcite, which were stuffed with a flavorful chopped meat mixture, coated with very fine bread crumbs, and fried until a golden orange.

[photo: Clifford A. Wright]

Yield: Makes 100 stuffed olives to serve 20
Preparation Time: 1 hour

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 pound ground chicken breast

1/4 pound ground veal

1/4 pound ground ham

2 large eggs, separated and whites beaten until frothy

3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

100 big pitted green olives

1 1/2 cups dry bread crumbs

6 cups olive oil or olive pomace oil for frying

1. In a medium-size skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat, then cook the chicken, veal, and ham until they all lose their pinkness, about 4 minutes, stirring and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon. The meat may not be crumbly enough after cooking, in which case, run it in a food processor for a minute.

2. In a large bowl, mix the cooked meats with the egg yolks, parmigiano, salt, cayenne, and nutmeg. Stuff the olives with the mixture, then dip in the beaten egg whites and dredge in the bread crumbs. Place on a baking tray and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

3. Preheat the frying oil in a deep fryer or an 8-inch saucepan fitted with a basket insert to 375 degrees F.

4. Fry the olives a handful at a time (do not crowd them) in the hot oil until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels, and serve hot as a passed tidbit. Let the frying oil cool completely, strain through a porous paper filter, if necessary, and save the oil for a future use.

Posted: 04/03/2008