FRIED OLIVES

Sicilian cooks bake them until the flesh has softened.  Neapolitans make a pasta sauce out of black ones, tomatoes and anchovies.  Bars will serve bowls of them alongside boozy drinks. Olives.

Grown from regional varietals, Italy's olives differ in color, shape and size.  Some are large and emerald green. Others are peanut-sized and eggplant purple. Olives canned in the U.S. tend to taste like salt -- having been drowned in brine.  Mediterranean olives, though, get cured in herbs, salt and extra virgin olive oil. You can still taste the olive.  

Fried olives are a classic appetizer in central Italy.  Some recipes call for stuffing the olives with grated cheese and prosciutto.  Others keep things simple -- dredging them in breadcrumbs and then frizzling in hot oil.   

INGREDIENTS

* 1.5 - 2 cups pitted green Mediterranean olives

* 2 eggs, whisked

* 3/4 cup of bread crumbs

* 1/4 cup of grated parmigiano or pecorino cheese

* Oil for frying -- olive or sunflower oil

Whisk the 2 eggs in a bowl until frothy.  Pour the breadcrumbs into another bowl. Then, mix the 1/4 cup of grated cheese into the breadcrumbs.  Dip the pitted olives in the egg and then dredge in the cheese-breadcrumb mix. Repeat this process a second time to ensure that the coating sticks to the olives during frying.  

Heat 3 cups (at least) of oil over medium high heat. Use a tall and sturdy stockpot -- this will prevent the oil from splattering on your stove and give you enough depth for frying.  Olive oil begins to burn at 375F. So, if you want to fry in olive oil, be sure it hovers around 350F.  For frying, it is better to use a lower grade -- ahem, cheaper-- olive oil. Keep your extra virgin for another time. (For more on frying, see this New York Times piece).

Using a candy thermometer, test the oil's temperature. When it reaches 350F, it's ready.  Fry the olives in batches until golden brown: 2-4 minutes per batch.  Remove the fried olives to a paper towel.  Serve immediately. Can you eat just one?

FRIED SQUASH BLOSSOMS

When in Bologna, try the meat sauce. When in Florence, nosh on salami. When in Rome, eat fried food. Both hostarie (fancy-pants restaurants) and pizzerias with vinyl tablecloths serve up fried antipasti in Rome. Conventionally, the fritto misto alla romana is a mix of battered-n-fried veggies and meaty odds and ends (sweetbreads, brain, spinal chord). Romans may love their innards. Visitors, well, not so much.

 Despite purists' complaints, most restaurants now offer less offal-heavy options: fiori di zucca (fried squash blossoms), olive ascolane (olives stuffed and fried), frittelle di baccalà (salt cod fritters) and mozzarelline fritte (fried mozzarella balls). During the summers, markets in Rome abound with baskets of orange and green zucchini flowers. Restaurants and home cooks buy bags of them and either fry them or serve them sauteed in olive oil over a bed of pasta.

Although other regions in Italy stuff zucchini flowers with ricotta or cured meat, Roman-style fiori di zucca are always made with a lone anchovy and a small bit of mozzarella. Once filled, they get dipped in a yeasty batter and fried -- preferably in vegetable or light (not extra virgin) olive oil.

In a frying pan, pour 3-4 inches of oil and heat to 375 degrees.  If you don't have a frying thermometer, you can test the oil temperature by putting a little drop of the batter in the heated oil. If it sizzles and floats to the surface, it's ready.  If not, keep heating.  Fry the blossoms for 2 min.  They should be crispy & lightly golden on all sides. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and serve immediately.  

 INGREDIENTS:

* 10-15 zucchini flowers

* 2-3 eggs

* 1 cup flour

* 4 tablespoons of beer

* Vegetable oil sufficient for frying

* 1 fresh mozzarella ball sliced into thin strips

* Anchovy fillets (or none if you don't like the taste)

Wash the zucchini blossoms and gently pat them dry with a paper towel; remove the tough and spiny base of the flower. Be careful -- it can be prickly and stick to your fingers.  Then, place a thin sliver of mozzarella in each flower and, if you want, one small anchovy. Do not to over-stuff.  Cheese melts during frying but we want it inside the blossom and not oozing out.  Set aside the filled blossoms.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs (yolks and whites) with a fork. Bit by bit, sift the flour in, stirring constantly to avoid clumps.  Once your pastella is the consistency of thick pancake batter, add the beer and whisk.  Dip the flowers in batter, letting any extra pastella drip off.