Have You Had the Impossibly Smooth Olio Martini? Do Try This At Home - WSJ

Step 1

Arts & CultureFood & Cooking

Step 2

Pour both vermouths and olive oil into a large mason jar or glass pitcher with a lid, and shake really well. Place in freezer, along with bottle of gin or vodka, to chill overnight. Just before serving, carefully crack the fat-cap on top of vermouth into a few large pieces, and remove from slushy vermouth mixture. In a large pitcher, combine vermouth mixture, gin or vodka, and 1 cup very cold water, and stir to combine. The vermouth slush will gradually melt, making the Martini lovely and cold.Strain into coupes, Nick and Nora glasses or Martini glasses. Garnish each Martini with a small drop of olive oil. Twist optional.

Step 3

Drain olives and pat them completely dry with a paper towel.Set a gas stovetop burner to medium flame. Set jalapeños directly on metal burner and char, turning, until skin is blackened and blistered all over, 6-7 minutes. Transfer jalapeños directly to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit until cool enough to handle, about 3 minutes. Rub off blackened skin from jalapeños, remove stems and seeds, and mince.In a mixing bowl combine tuna, minced jalapeños, lemon zest, pepper and 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Use the back of a fork to mash into a fine mixture.Use a lobster fork or metal cake tester to stuff olives, one by one, with tuna mixture. Wipe each olive so outside is clean of any filling before breading.Bread the olives: In a small bowl, mix egg, ⅓ cup cornstarch and 1 tablespoon cold water. (Aim for the consistency of heavy cream.) Sprinkle remaining cornstarch over one plate, and breadcrumbs over another. Working with one stuffed olive at a time, roll first in cornstarch to coat, then use two forks to dunk olive in egg mixture, letting any excess drip off. Finally, roll olive through breadcrumbs, to coat. Place on a small baking sheet.Line a plate with paper towels. Pour about an inch of oil into a small frying pan. Over medium-high, heat oil to 350 degrees. (If you don’t own a thermometer, check temperature by frying a test olive and adjust accordingly.) Working in batches, carefully place olives in oil, and fry 1 minute, then roll over and fry for until golden on all over, about 1 minute more. Use a slotted spoon to transfer fried olives to paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining olives. If not serving immediately, Keep fried olives warm in a low-temperature oven.Make the dipping sauce: In a small mixing bowl, combine labneh, lemon juice, parsley and a few cranks of black pepper.To serve, smear labneh mixture over a small platter, and place olives on top, so guests can drag olives through labneh as they grab them. Or, serve labneh on the side, in a small bowl.