Gorgonzola Stuffed Olives

After an afternoon of beagling with the Ardrossan Beagles we end with a tea. While tea is served there is also food and libations.

At a recent joint hunt with the Tewksbury Foot Bassets from Bedminster, New Jersey, I signed up to bring ‘stuffed olives’ for the tea. The easy way out would have been to buy a jar of pimento stuffed olives and transfer them to a bowl or plate. But I saw this as an opportunity to make a simple hors d’oeuvre. 

Blue cheese is one of my favorite cheeses and it makes a perfect filing for an olive. To get it to the right consistency for piping into the olive it is best mixed with cream cheese. For this recipe I used mild crumbled Gorgonzola but any blue cheese will work – mild or intense. Mix it in a food processor to ensure it’s smooth. Then transfer it to a pastry bag or sturdy plastic bag (such as a ziplock bag) and pipe it into each olive. 

I used pitted gigante green olives packed in oil from the cheese and antipasto section at Wegmans. You could also use Mezzetta’s Pitted Italian Castelvetrano Olives (packed in water – also available at Wegmans) or any other large green pitted olive. While I have pitted many olives, I would recommend not doing this yourself as the olives may not keep their shape (at least that’s been my experience). Before stuffing the olives, be sure to drain them in a colander. 

I served these olives as part of the spread for our post-beagling tea, they would also be a great garnish to a gin or vodka martini. These would be a great addition to a bar at a holiday gathering or a lovely host gift as well.

Want to learn more about beagling? Check out my Boursin Stuffed Red Peppers post.