This dish hails from the Marche region of Italy, specifically Ascoli Piceno, but you can taste a very good version of this appetizer at Perbacco on the lower east side of NYC not far from the old CBGB. I keep experimenting with the fillings. The traditional treatment would be a sausage type, but you can also use cheese. Here, I’m doing both. First you must pit the olives. The traditional method calls for using something like a bird’s beak knife to make an intricate spiral cut to pit and fill the critter. Paula Wolfert will tell you that this is easy. It’s not. It’s faster to use an olive or cherry stoner. Be sure to use big, fat green olives as in Sicilian style. You will get a big mouthful of beatific goodness.

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