Italian Fried Olives

  Posted on May 26, 2010  by Leslie Blythe  1 comment

Blogger’s Block

I’m sitting here in the dark with my computer trying not to wake my husband. He asked me what I was doing and I said I was trying to figure out what to blog about tomorrow morning. He rolled over and said – Fried Olives and then went to sleep. So here it is – Fried Olives.  If you have to eat olives (I hate olives) this is the only way to do it!

Italian Fried Olives

Serves 4 – 6

1 oz Gorgonzola cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup ricotta cheese, at room temperature
1½ tsp dried thyme
1½ tsp lemon zest
20 pitted green olives, rinsed and dried thoroughly
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ cup plain bread crumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying

Special equipment: a pastry bag, a plain tip with a 1/4-inch opening

In a small bowl, combine the cheeses, thyme, and lemon zest. Place the cheese mixture into the pastry bag. Pipe the cheese mixture into each olive.

Place the flour in a small bowl. Pour the beaten egg in another small bowl and the bread crumbs in a third small bowl.

Dredge the olives in the flour. Using a slotted spoon, remove the olives and place in the bowl with the beaten egg. Coat the olives with the egg and transfer to the bowl of bread crumbs. Coat the olives with the bread crumbs.

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour in enough oil to fill the pan about 1/3 of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 350 degrees F. (If you don’t have a thermometer a cube of bread will brown in a couple of minutes.) Fry the olives, in batches, for 30 to 45 seconds until golden brown. Drain the fried olives on paper towels. Cool for 5 minutes.