La Cucina Italiana - De Italiaanse Keuken - The Italian Kitchen

This is a classic dish from Marche. To stand a chance of making them, you really need a very large olive like those found around Ascoli Piceno; the key is stuffing the olives plentifully before frying them. In Marche, they are pretty ubiquitous, popping up as appetizers in the fanciest of restaurants right through to your local pizzeria. And very delicious they are too.

This recipe is courtesy of Paola from Azienda Agricola Fiorano and her mum.

Ingredients for 4

Big fat olives still on the stone – (classically Ascolane olives) about 30

Pork – 200g/7oz

Turkey breast – 200g/7oz

Beef – 200g/7oz

Mortadella – 100g/3.5oz

Parmesan – 80g/2.8oz

Eggs – 4

White wine – A glass

Nutmeg – to taste

Salt – to taste

Pepper – to taste

Bread crumbs – as required

Flour – as requested

Extra virgin olive oil – as required

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The annual Fritto Misto Festival at Ascoli Piceno, from April the 25th to May the 1st, features a feast of deep fried food - including the town's signature stuffed olives. If you can not get there to try a wide range of deep-fried wickedness from Italy and abroad you can try to prepare at home the protagonists of the festival, the "Olive all'Ascolana", following these video directions. This appetizer is one of the most representative of the Italian culinary tradition and it will surely be a hit with your friends.