Olive all’ascolana (Stuffed olives, region Marche)

Ingredients (6 servings)

big green de-stoned olives in brine – 1 kg

pork mince – 150 g

raw ham – 70 g

grated parmesan – 60 g

tomato sauce – 2 tbs

4 eggs

flour

grated dry bread

oil, salt and pepper

a pinch of nutmeg

Preparation

Heat some oil in a pan and cook the mince, season with salt and pepper. Put the cooked mince in a bowl, add the finely minced ham, the parmesan cheese and a pinch of nutmeg, 1 tablespoon of grated bread, 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce, 2 eggs and season with salt and pepper.

Blend everything well together and use this mixture to stuff the olives. Whisk the remaining two eggs with a fork and season with a bit of salt. Roll the stuffed olives in the flour, in the whisked eggs and finally in the grated bread.

Heat plenty of oil in a pan and fry the olives (the oil must be hot!), drain them with a skimmer and place them on  plate lined with absorbent paper towels. Serve immediately.