Deep fried Garlic-Cheesy stuffed California Ripe Olives with Roasted Pepper & Garlic Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups drained, whole California Ripe Olives(We used large black olives.)
For the filling
- 1-8oz package cream cheese
- 4oz – Shredded Manchego cheese (or preferred sharp cheese)
- 4 cloves of roasted garlic (To Roast, trim the bottom of a whole garlic, rub with olive oil, lightly sprinkle with salt and roast 30 min at 350°F oven until bulb is soft and lightly browned. Use 4 cloves for main recipe and reserve some cloves for the dipping sauce.)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup chopped green onion
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp hot sauce
For the Breading & frying of the of the Olives
- 2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 3 cups vegetable oil (heated to 350°F degrees in a pot). If you use an air fryer, you may omit this ingredient and instead follow instructions on air fryer to cook bite sized appetizers.
For the dipping sauce
- ¼ cup jarred roasted red pepper
- 3 cloves roasted garlic
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
Directions
Blend all the filling ingredients in a food processor until smooth, then refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll chilled mixture into small balls, slightly smaller than the size of the olives.
Slit the olives on one side, and stuff with cheese ball. This is time consuming but well worth it!
Once stuffed, place prepared olives on a baking tray and freeze for 15 minutes before breading them. (The par freeze helps them stay together.)
Roll the stuffed olives in the flour, dip in egg and then finally the breadcrumbs, making sure to coat well.
For the Dipping sauce: Blend the roasted peppers & garlic in a food processor, pour into a bowl and mix with mayonnaise and salt & pepper.
Deep fry olives for 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown and serve with the dipping sauce. Alternatively, follow directions for cooking small appetizers using an air fryer!
ENJOY!
