Italian scotch olives

Luca serves these with a confit garlic mayo seasoned with a little lemon juice, and crispy sage leaves.

35 MINUTES | SERVES 6 AS A STARTER A LITTLE EFFORT

olive oil 1 tbsp

onion 1 small, finely chopped

garlic 1 clove, finely chopped

fennel seeds 1 tsp thyme and sage ½ tbsp of each, chopped

red wine 100ml

sausagemeat 300g

pitted Gordal olives 10, patted dry of brine

plain flour 150g, seasoned

egg yolks 6, whisked with 3 tbsp of milk

panko breadcrumbs 200g

vegetable oil for deep-frying

1 Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onion for 5 minutes until just softening, then add the garlic and fennel seeds, and cook for further 3 minutes. Add the herbs and wine, and reduce to a glaze. Spread the mixture onto a large plate and allow to cool for a few minutes.

2 Combine the sausagemeat and onion mixture in a mixing bowl, and work the ingredients together with a pinch of salt and pepper. Divide the mixture into 10 x 25g balls (each about the size of a quail’s egg).

3 Take an olive and wrap the meat around it until completely covered (just like a scotch egg). Roll the scotch olives around in the seasoned flour (use a plate or flat bowl) coating all over. Dip the scotch olives individually in the egg yolk, let the excess drip off, then coat thoroughly in the breadcrumbs. Put on a plate ready for cooking.

4 Fill a pan no more than a third full with vegetable oil and heat to 190C or until a cube of bread browns in 25 seconds. Fry the scotch olives in batches for 3-4 minutes or until deeply golden and crisp, and the meat is cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Serve with mayonnaise, if you like.

PER SERVING 329 kcals | fat 18G saturates 4.4G | carbs 29G | sugars 1.6G fibre 2.3G | protein 9.7G | salt 0.8G