Chef Patrice Olivon

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Marinated California Olives Stuffed with Goat Cheese

To accompany beer and wine, I like to serve salty, "fresh snacks." It doesn't take long to marry two flavorful appetizers – olives and goat cheese – into this one-bite, satisfying treat. Both olives and goat cheese have strong flavors, and the addition of roasted red pepper and herbs, finished by a crunchy almond makes them that much more delicious. You can serve these at a cocktail party on a skewer or just by themselves.

Serve for cocktail party on skewer.

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 appetizer servings

Ingredients
1/2 cup California olives, pitted, such as Sicilian Style Olives, Sevillano Variety, Jumbo Pitted from West Coast Products*
1 tablespoon fresh plain goat cheese, at room temperature, such as Soft Chevre from Shamrock Artisan Goat Cheese*
zest from half a lemon
zest from a quarter of an orange
1 sprig rosemary
1/2 red bell pepper
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon slivered almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons California certified extra virgin olive oil*
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

Special equipment
Pastry bag with small round tip

Methode
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Infuse the olive oil with garlic: In a sauté pan over medium heat, roast the garlic with the olive oil until the garlic turns light brown. Turn the heat down to low and let the garlic cook gently until it is a little soft. Remove the garlic from the olive oil, chop it finely, and reserve the garlic infused olive oil for the marinade.

Prepare the filling for the olives: In a medium bowl, mix the finely chopped garlic and the fresh goat cheese, then add the lemon and orange zest. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Roast the red pepper: Rub a little bit of olive oil on the red pepper, place it on a baking sheet, and roast the pepper. Using tongs, turn the pepper as it's roasting 2 to 3 times until it's nearly black on all sides – about 10 minutes. While it's hot, place the red pepper in a brown paper bag and fold down the top to seal in the steam. After 10 minutes, take it out of the bag and use your fingers to peel off the peppers' charred outer skin. Discard the seeds and the char, finely dice the pepper and mix it into the goat cheese filling.

Stuff and marinate the olives: Put the goat cheese filling into a pastry bag with a small round tip. Place the tip of your finger at one end of the olive to create a "plug", then insert the tip of the pastry bag into the other end. Press on the bag to stuff the olive with the goat cheese, then insert a piece of almond. After repeating the stuffing process with the rest of the olives, pour the garlic infused olive oil over the olives and add the rosemary sprig and lemon juice. Marinate for 1 to 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Note: These olives can be made spicier by adding a finely chopped roasted jalapeño pepper to the goat cheese filling.

"Dinner is Served. Bon Appetit!" — Chef Patrice Olivon

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From: Dinner is Served, a public television series
© 2009 Fresh TV Creative, LLC, All Rights Reserved.

For more information about Chef Patrice and Dinner is Served,
visit www.chefpatrice.tv