13027 Serves 8 Wed Aug 06 08:19:02 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 04 08:38:47 -0800 2009 Licensed http://www.chow.com/recipes/13027 Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:38:47 GMT This dish is a specialty of the city of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. The olives are pitted in a spiral fashion, and a spicy ground beef filling is inserted into the center. The stuffed olives are then braised in a piquant beef-and-tomato sauce laced with harissa, the hot chile paste, and tabil, the basic spice mix of Tunisia. Here the dish is topped with roasted green chiles, but in Tunisia they would be fried in olive oil.

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Place the beef in a resealable plastic bag. Add the black pepper and tabil spice mix, tossing to fully coat the meat with the spices. Marinate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet to medium-high heat and sauté the beef cubes until lightly browned. Add the onion and sauté until soft.

Add the tomato paste, tomatoes, lemon juice, harissa, paprika, and chicken stock. Simmer for 1 hour, covered, or until the meat is very tender. Reserve. (The ragout can be made one day in advance.)

Combine all of the stuffing ingredients in the workbowl of a food processor and blend to a uniform mixture. Form the stuffing into 32 marble-size ovals.

Place a piece of stuffing into the center of each olive strip. Using wet hands, wrap and press the olive strips firmly around the stuffing, reforming an olive shape, and reserve. (The stuffed olives can be made one day in advance and stored wrapped and refrigerated.)

Gently place the stuffed olives in the simmering ragout, tightly cover the skillet, and cook for 45 minutes. Gently turn the olives after 20 minutes, adding more stock or water only if necessary.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the olives to an ovenproof dish. Reduce the sauce to 1¾ cups [420 mL] and skim off any fat.

Just before service, place the olives under a broiler to heat and glaze them. Heat the chile strips and reserve. Stir the fennel seeds into the ragout and adjust seasonings.

Place 4 stuffed olives on a plate and top generously with the ragout. Add a twist of freshly ground black pepper and garnish with chile strips arranged attractively. Serve with bread on the side.

]]> http://www.chow.com Arthur L. Meyer 50 Main 1 pound [450 g] lean beef, cut into ¼-inch [6-mm] cubes

]]> ½ teaspoon [3 mL] black pepper

]]> 1 tablespoon [15 mL] tabil (see page 399)

]]> 1 tablespoon [15 mL] olive oil

]]> ½ cup [120 mL] onion, diced

]]> 1 tablespoon [15 mL] tomato paste

]]> 1 cup [240 mL] tomatoes, diced

]]> 1 tablespoon [15 mL] fresh lemon juice

]]> 1 teaspoon [5 mL] harissa (see page 396), diluted in 1 tablespoon chicken stock

]]> 1 teaspoon [5 mL] paprika

]]> 2½ cups [600 mL] chicken stock, plus more if needed

]]> 12 ounces [360 mL] lean beef, minced or coarsely ground

]]> ⅓ cup [80 mL] parsley, chopped

]]> ¼ cup [60 mL] Parmesan cheese, grated

]]> 1 egg

]]> 1 egg yolk

]]> 3 tablespoons [45 mL] onion, diced very fine

]]> 2 garlic cloves, minced

]]> ½ tablespoon [8 mL] tabil spice mix

]]> 1 teaspoon [5 mL] harissa, diluted in 2 tablespoons cold water

]]> 32 large Sicilian olives, pitted in a spiral fashion, leaving corkscrew-shaped strips, soaked in several changes of water to remove excess saltiness, and well drained

]]> ¾ teaspoon [4 mL] fennel seeds, lightly toasted until fragrant, cooled, and ground

]]> Freshly ground black pepper

]]> 8 Anaheim or New Mexico medium-hot green chiles, roasted, peeled, and cut into thin strips

]]> Crusty country bread, for service

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