WEEK 35: YOUR BEST MOVIE SNACK

Olive all’Ascolana

Photography by Sarah Shatz

    BY ARIELLECLEMENTINE | MAKES 24

A&M: This high-low treat can work just as easily for a movie snack as it can for a dinner party hors d’oeuvre. These crunchy little flavor bombs come out of the hot oil looking like hedgehogs with a shaggy brown coating of panko. Inside is a layer of tangy olive and then rosemary-and-dried-chile-scented goat cheese. The olives hold up well, so you can fry them up to an hour in advance; just keep them warm in a low oven. And chill some Prosecco.

    ½ cup soft goat cheese

    1 teaspoon mustard seeds

    1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary

    ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

    1 garlic clove, minced

    24 large green olives, pitted

    1 cup vegetable oil

    1 cup all-purpose flour

    1 large egg, beaten

    1 cup bread crumbs (fresh or panko)

    ¹/₃ cup freshly grated Parmesan or similar

    cheese, plus more for sprinkling

    Zest and juice of 1 lemon, for sprinkling

1. In a small bowl, mix together the goat cheese, mustard seeds, rosemary, red pepper flakes, and garlic. Stuff the olives with this goat cheese mixture (I like to use my fingers, but you could use a piping bag if you’re really classy). Put the stuffed olives on a plate and refrigerate for 20 minutes, to let the cheese firm up.
2. While the olives are chilling, gently heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan to 375°F.
3. Set up three plates for your breading station. Put the flour on one plate, the beaten egg on the next, and mix the bread crumbs and Parmesan on the last.
4. Roll half the chilled olives in the flour, then in the egg, then in the bread crumbs, and carefully drop them into the heated oil. Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain, and repeat with the remaining olives.
5. Pile on a plate and finish with a shower of freshly grated Parmesan and lemon zest and a spritz of lemon.

Photography by Sarah Shatz

    ABOUT THE COOK

    Arielle Arizpe is an education specialist in Austin, Texas.

        Her favorite recipe from a cookbook: “Quiche Lorraine, from the New Best Recipe ( from the editors of Cook’s Illustrated ). I didn’t know what quiche was until I made this recipe. Now I make it at least once a month (with varied fillings).”

        Her top entertaining tip: “If at all possible, get Helenthenanny to make an appearance at your fête, because that girl knows how to get a party started.”

        Now for a bit of Food52 trivia: arielleclementine, a self-described “olive fiend,” is the sister of Helenthenanny, another recipe winner—see her Figgy Pudding Butter Cookies.

        See Arielle Clementine’s recipe for Griddled Polenta Cakes with Caramelized Onions, Goat Cheese, and Honey.

        Here’s her blog: www.arielleclementine.blogspot.com.

    WHAT THE COMMUNITY SAID

    Naked Beet: “These look absolutely sinful. I’m afraid if I made them for a movie snack and not a dinner party I would never share my plate!”