Fried Olives with Spicy Yogurt

Recipe by The View From the Great Island

Fried Olives with Spicy Yogurt ~ The olives are crispy on the outside, warm and juicy inside, the yogurt is cool and creamy, and the herb sauce is zesty.

Ingredients

• 1 hot green chile pepper, cut in several pieces, seeds and all (I used a large jalapeno)
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp sugar
• 1 large handful fresh cilantro leaves (a heaping cup)
• 1 large handful fresh parsley leaves (a heaping cup)
• juice of lemon
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1½ cups Greek yogurt
• fried olives
• 14 ounce can of pitted green olives (drained)
• ½ cup flour
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• ½ cup bread crumbs (I used half regular and half panko)
• vegetable oil for frying

Method

1. To make the spicy herb sauce, put the chile, cardamom, cloves, sugar, cilantro, parsley, lemon juice, and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. The herbs will just about fill the canister. Pulse until you get a chunky salsa.
2. Put about 2 inches of oil in a small saucepan.
3. Set up a breading station for your olives. Put the flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs into 3 bowls. Dry the olives on a clean kitchen towel.
4. Dredge the olives, one by one, in the flour, then into the eggs, and finally into the breadcrumbs. make sure they get well coated. Set aside on a plate.
5. Heat the oil on medium to medium high heat until hot. Drop a test olive in ~ it should fry to golden in a minute or slightly less. If it gets too dark too quickly, or takes too long to get brown, adjust the heat accordingly.
6. Fry the olives, 6 or so at a time, until golden brown. Flip them around in the oil gently so they cook evenly. Set on a paper towel to drain.
7. Put the yogurt into a shallow serving bowl. Add the salsa and swirl together. Top with the warm fried olives and serve with pita bread or flatbread.

View the recipe instructions at The View From the Great Island