***Sponsored article. This article mentions some products – and their respective companies – that were used in the recipe.***

The fish ascolana olives are a variant of the classic ascolana olives (that is, with meat filling). Fish stuffed olives are mainly made in the coastal area of the Province of Ascoli Piceno, and today I present you my reinterpretation of the traditional recipe.
I prepared these fish ascolana olives specifically for the Food Contest Un mare di Marche: the goal is to promote a sustainable sea economy, hence small-scale fishing, bluefish, and the common and massive species of the Marche Region, in a thematic journey revealing the secrets of the Marche Region territory combined with the gastronomic excellence of the “crater” area of the 2016 earthquake.

I received at home a package containing a selection of typical Marche products to use along with one of the fish species belonging to the “FAO Area 37.2.1 Adriatic Sea/Mediterranean Sea,” with which to create a typical recipe of my area and adapt it based on the ingredients received.

My fortune is living on the border between two provinces: Teramo (residence Province) and Ascoli Piceno. Another fortune is living just a few kilometers from San Benedetto del Tronto, where you can buy fresh fish every day directly at the port, as happened to me to make this recipe. Furthermore, I am also fortunate to live a few kilometers from Ascoli and to live in a hilly area, famous and rich in olive groves.
For the good result of the ascolana olives the secret is to use the “tenera ascolana” olive, rich in sweet pulp, which grows in the Ascoli area and much of the province of Teramo. Also, the olive used for ascolana olives is picked before the harvest for oil production and is preserved in brine with wild fennel, in glass jars. My mother makes a supply every year, so it wasn’t difficult for me to use them for this recipe!

As I mentioned at the beginning, living a few kilometers from the sea and the Ascolana coast, fish ascolana olives are made in San Benedetto del Tronto. Like every traditional dish, everyone has their family recipe. For the filling, fresh fish is preferred, and those species of poor fish and bluefish found in our Adriatic Sea.

I made the fish ascolana olives by adapting the original recipe to the products I received at home. For the filling, I used: anchovies, red mullet, gurnard, cod, and mullet. I cooked the fish in a pan with a vegetable mince (onion, carrot, celery, and parsley) and deglazed with white wine. Then I mixed everything with boiled potatoes (not found in the original recipe) and grated Parmesan. For the breading, I followed the classic method (flour, eggs, breadcrumbs) to which I added grated black truffle.
Fish ascolana olives are fried bites, soft inside and crispy outside, with a delicate taste that you must try at least once in your life!

Products used

– Extra virgin olive oil Cartofaro: a single-variety organic olive oil that enhances the peculiarity of the olives processed each when they are mature.

– Flat red onion of Pedaso from Microfattoria rASOterra: a flat-looking and sweet-tasting onion cultivated by a micro-farm in the Aso Valley area, which aims to spread the culture of “doing” agriculture based on the principles of regenerative organic agriculture and bio-intensive farming.

– Yellow-fleshed potato from the Sibillini Mountains of Saecula-Natural Village: irregular and yellow rind, yellow flesh, with little water and compact pulp.

– Black truffle – winter scorzone Angellozzi Tartuficoltura and Associazione Tartufai dei Monti della Laga: winter variety with a hard and warty rind, with dark flesh streaked with white veins.