Friday, July 28, 2006

why can't you buy empty olives?

there is this pork dish that i really like and its got green olives in it. i don't make it all that often but decided to this week. i had the pork in the fridge and i thought for sure i had all the other stuff in the pantry. except then i was about to make it and discovered i didn't have the olives. so off i run to the store to discover that you can't buy empty olives. they all have onions or pits or pimintos inside and i didn't want any of those in my dinner. does anyone know why you can buy empty black olives but not green? or if you can, does anyone know where?

the recipe calls for a pork loin which normally are over in the meat section but generally in a long tube sort of shape. sort of like a big sausage just not ground up meat. ok. talking about raw meat is sort of...eeiihh (the sound is accompanied by a shoulder/hand twitch). so anyway, like most items in the prepackaged meat section, you can't really choose how much you want, you just buy the package. so i normally use half on this recipe and freeze the other half for a couple of weeks for another favorite pork recipe. i will try to remember to share that one in a couple of weeks.

roast stuffed pork loin

4 T olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
about 4-5 slices of bread torn up, i prefer wheat
1/2 cup dried figs, chopped
1/2 cup green olives, empty and chopped
1/4 cup almond bits
1 T lemon juice
1 egg yolk
1 lb pork loin
salt and pepper to taste.

preheat oven to 400. heat half of the oil in a skillet. saute the onion and garlic until softened. remove from heat and stir in breadcrumbs, figs, olives, almonds, lemon juice, egg yolk, and seasonings. mix well. butterfly the pork loin long ways so that it makes a long rectangle rather than a square. wrap the pork around about half the stuffing. use remaining oil in bottom of oven proof pan and cook stuffed pork for an hour. make stuffing balls out of the rest of the stuffing, toss into pan and cook for 15 more minutes. i think this goes well with just about any veggie or salad side item you might like. the original recipe said this dish was also good served cold but i've always reheaded my leftovers. the dish scores well in leftoverability and you could bake the second half of your stuffing in a separate dish to better accomodate any vegetarian diners you may have.

3 Comments:

  • At 11:51 AM , Blogger Jod{i} said...

    Came by via BE....I buy black olives pitted all the time and green ones too...Check the International section of your supermarket...
    Most BIG stores have an italian section...Not the mainstream selections...jus an idea

     
  • At 10:16 PM , Blogger Renee Nefe said...

    I usually pit cherries with a cake decorating star tip...you might be able to use it on olives too. But since you're chopping the olives anyway...I'm guessing that you just used a knife to get the pits out.
    We don't eat olives in any form here.

    My squash was "normal" other than the being fused together. And yummy too. :D

     
  • At 12:28 PM , Blogger Kimba said...

    Most grocery stores do sell pitted green olives...check the specialty foods section if they aren't in with the "regular" olives. Also, try a liquor store, they should sell a variety of olives.

     

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