Vincenzo’s Olive Farcite
When we first owned our deli, Dad would have big jars of plain olives in the fridge counter, but
we couldn’t give them away. Then he decided to marinate them and after that we couldn’t stop
them flying out of the deli and had to make them on a daily basis, though always to sell the
following day as they are too harsh if served freshly made. These are very easy to prepare and I
guarantee they will all disappear. The olives can be with or without stones, but without is better
for eating on bread. If possible, don’t use stuffed olives.
Ingredients:
250 g green olives
250 g black olives
5 cloves of garlic, chopped (not crushed)
4 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
5 anchovies, drained with oil reserved, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the olives into a large glass mixing bowl and add all the chopped ingredients. Pour in a
slosh of olive oil together with the anchovy oil and stir until the olives are covered with the oils.
Taste an olive to check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. At this point they
will be strong and sharp, but cover and leave in the fridge overnight and the flavours will mix and
become mellow, creamy and smooth. Serve at room temperature.
*taken from the book ‘From Seed to plate’ by Paolo Arrigo, published by Simon and Schuster