Olive Ascolane are olives stuffed with minced meat and fried with a breadcrumb coating and eaten as an antipasto or as street food. The recipe dates from the 19th century and received DOP certification in 2005. They are found as an antipasto on many menus outside of Ascoli Piceno or Le Marche, but most of those are the industrial version. Handmade Olive Ascolane are a fantastic treat. The gigantic olives came originally from Syria, ending up in Italy in Roman times. They are almost sweet in taste, having rested in water with fennel seeds for over a month before the final preparation.
The stuffing is a mix of minced beef and pork (and sometimes chicken or turkey), stewed for hours with white wine, salt, pepper and nutmeg.