Olive ascolane – deep-fried stuffed olives
- Antipasto
- 8
- 60 minutes
This olive ascolane recipe – or olive all’ascolana – hails from Marche, which is known for its deep-fried treats. In this antipasti dish, olives are stuffed with a meaty filling, breaded and deep-fried for a truly moreish snack.
One of the most-loved foods from Marche – and one of the best-known, too – olive ascolane or all’ascolana owe their name to the city of Ascoli Piceno. There, a special variety of soft, large green olives has been grown since Roman times, making for one of the finest specialties from the area.
Olive ascolane are traditionally made using these fine local green olives, which are then stuffed with a meat filling, breaded and deep fried.
The local custom would call for olives that are cut in spirals in order to remove the pit. To make the process a tad easier, you can – as I do – use pitted olives cut in half for an equally delicious result.
Olive ascolane are often served as part of series of deep-fried treats –– including crema fritta (fried custard), fried sage leaves, and fritto misto all’ascolana (fried lamb chops, artichokes and courgettes). However, they can also be served as a standalone appetiser or snack alongside your favourite aperitivo.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Olive ascolane
- 1 tbsp of butter
- 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 small carrot, finely chopped
- 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 celery stick, finely chopped
- 75g of pork mince
- 75g of beef mince
- 60ml of dry white wine
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- 20g of white bread, crusts removed
- 40ml of milk
- 2 eggs
- 30g of grated Parmesan
- 40 pitted large green olives, drained and halved lengthwise
- 1l sunflower oil, for frying
- 3 tbsp of plain flour
- 60g of fine breadcrumbs
- fine sea salt, as needed
- freshly ground black pepper, as needed
Equipment
- Food processor
Method
Get in touch
Please sign in or register to send a comment to Great British Chefs.
You may also like
SITES
