Lindsay Stuffed Olives

Now you can add a fresh twist to this old favorite by quickly mixing up simple ingredients and stuffing them into the bowl of each pitted olive. Or you can present guests with a variety of pitted olives and stuffings and let them create their own stuffed olives. Start with a simple base of cream cheese and your favorite herbs, and then let your imagination run wild.

Base Recipe:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. light or regular cream cheese (do not use fat free)
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves, minced (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (5.75 oz.) cans LindsayŽ Colossal Black Ripe Pitted Olives, drained

In bowl of food processor, combine cream cheese, basil, salt and pepper; process until well combined. Transfer mixture to a 1-quart zip top plastic food storage bag. At this point, bag may be refrigerated up to 2 days.

To serve, cut a tiny end off food storage bag (no larger than 1/4 inch width). Place corner of bag as deep as possible inside each olive, gently squeeze bag filling olive and letting a small amount of mixture mound out of the top of the olive. Serve immediately or cover and chill up to 24 hours before serving. Makes 12 servings (about 2 dozen stuffed olives).

Serving suggestion: Arrange stuffed olives on a bed of red leaf lettuce or mesclun salad greens and garnish with basil sprigs.

Variations
Once ingredients are combined for the following variations, transfer mixture to a 1-quart zip top plastic food storage bag. At this point, bag may be refrigerated up to 2 days. Follow serving instructions in base recipe

Bacon and Spinach:
3 tablespoons bottled real bacon bits, very finely chopped
3 tablespoons thawed frozen chopped spinach, well drained

Add to base cream cheese mixture and process until well combined.

Goat Cheese and Roasted Garlic:
3/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon bottled minced roasted garlic

Substitute half of the cream cheese with goat cheese. Add the remaining base ingredients, as well as the garlic, and process well.

Crab and Chive:
1 (6 ounce) can lump or leg crab meat, well drained
2 tablespoons chopped chives or green onion tops
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Substitute half of the cream cheese with the crab meat. Add the remaining base ingredients, as well as the chives and hot pepper sauce, and process well.

Gorgonzola and Pesto:
3/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese
3 tablespoons pesto or sun dried tomato pesto

Substitute half of the cream cheese with the Gorgonzola and replace basil with pesto. Add the remaining base ingredients and process well.

Smoked Salmon, Dill and Capers:
2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced (or 2 teaspoons dried)
3 ounces smoked salmon or lox
1 tablespoon small capers, drained

Substitute half of the cream cheese with the smoked salmon. Substitute the dill for the basil, add the remaining base ingredients, as well as the capers, and process well.

Source: Lindsay Olives