Fried Cheese Stuffed Olives with Calabrian Chile Anchovy Aioli

5 from 1 vote

Fried Cheese Stuffed Olives with Calabrian Chile Anchovy Aioli

Salty and savory olives stuffed with a creamy mixture of cheese, onion, and orange zest are coated and fried until crisp for a delicious appetizer that pairs well with a spicy aioli. This is inspired by the Spanish tapas boquerones with green olives and orange. If you don’t want to make aioli from scratch, use store-bought mayo and stir in anchovy paste and chile paste.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Italian

Keyword aioli, anchovy, appetizer, Chile, dairy-free, italian, nightshade-free, nut-free, olive, orange, vegetarian

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Total Time 50

Servings

Calories 390kcal

Author Jenny Ross

Ingredients

Aioli

1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 lemon
1 teaspoon dijon optional
1 large garlic clove minced
1 cup avocado oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon anchovy paste omit for vegetarian
1 tablespoon Calabrian chile paste or more to taste, omit for nightshade-free

Olives

8 ounces green olives such as Castelvetrano, pitted
3 ounces cream cheese at room temperature, or Kite Hill cream cheese for dairy-free
1/2 tablespoon red onion or shallot, minced
zest of 1/2 orange
1 tablespoon glucomann powder
1 egg lightly beaten
1 cup pork panko or more as needed
1 cup avocado oil for frying

Instructions

For the Aioli

Make the aioli by placing the yolk, lemon juice, dijon, garlic, and salt in the bottom of a jar that barely fits the head of an immersion blender.
Pour oil on top and let settle for one minute.
Place blender head in bottom of the jar and without moving the blender head, blend on high speed. As the mayo forms, tilt the head of the blender to incorporate the remaining oil, finally moving the head to incorporate any remaining at the top. Finally, blend in the anchovy paste and chile paste. This will keep for several days, refrigerated.

For the Olives

Drain the olives and pat them dry with paper towels.
Stir together the cream cheese, onion, and zest. Transfer to a small ziplock bag and then trim a corner of the bag and pipe the cream cheese into the centers of the pitted olives.
Prepare for coating the olives. Add the glucomann to a large bowl, beat the egg in a small bowl, and pour the pork panko onto a plate. Set an empty plate nearby.
Add the olives to the bowl with glucomann and toss to coat the olives in it. Then working with a couple olives at a time, dip them into egg and then roll in panko. Place onto the clean plate. Repeat until all olives are coated. You may need to lightly press the pork panko onto the olives. If you want a thicker coating, olives may be dipped in egg and rolled in panko a second time.
Heat the oil in a small, deep pot over medium-high heat to 375ºF-400ºF. Working in batches, lower 8-10 olives into the oil with a slotted spoon. Fry until golden, about 2 minutes, turning once. Use the slotted spoon to transfer fried olives to a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Sprinkle with a bit of salt, if desired. Repeat with remaining olives.
Transfer olives to a serving plate and serve with the aioli.

Notes

Only a couple of tablespoons of oil are absorbed during the frying process, as reflected in the nutrition facts.

Nutrition