Ameilia's Italian Stuffed Olives recipe

100 servings

1/4 cup olive oil

1 stalk celery, minced

1/2 medium onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2 thick cut bone-in pork chops

1 whole skinless, bone-in chicken breast

1 (10.75 ounce) can tomato puree

1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste

1 cup water

3 (8 ounce) jars colossal green olives, with pits

3 eggs, divided and beaten

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 lemon, zested

flour for dredging

bread crumbs

vegetable oil for deep frying

Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.

Cook and stir celery, onion, and garlic in hot oil until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add pork and chicken and cook for 7 to 10 minutes.

Combine tomato puree and tomato paste with 1 cup water, and add to meat mixture.

Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours, or until pork and chicken are falling off the bone.

Remove meat from the pot to cool, and set sauce aside.

Meanwhile, remove olive pits using a special olive pitting tool.

Make a slit in one side of each olive large enough to insert stuffing.

Once cooled, remove pork and chicken meat from the bones, and mince.

Mix together with 2 beaten eggs, Parmesan cheese, ground nutmeg, lemon zest, and 1/4 cup of reserved sauce.

Use more or less sauce as needed so that meat mixture is moist, but not too wet.

Fill each olive with enough stuffing so that a small amount is pushing out of the slit.

Dip each stuffed olive in flour, then beaten egg, then bread crumbs.

Stuffed olives may be frozen in an air-tight container at this point until ready to use.

Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Fry olives in hot oil for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown on the outside.

Serve warm.