Beef olives

Beef olives

1732 recipe
Alternative names	Veal olives; veal birds
Type	Meat casserole
Place of origin	England
Main ingredients	Beef or veal strips wrapped around stuffing

Beef olives are an English meat dish consisting of slices of beef rolled and tied round a stuffing and braised in stock. Veal is sometimes used instead of beef, but the latter has been more common since the 18th century. Similar dishes are familiar in cuisines of other countries including France, Italy, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.

The word "olives" in the name of the dish is a corruption of "aloes" or "allowes", from the Old French alou, meaning lark.^[1] It was held that the small stuffed beef (or veal) rolls resembled little birds, particularly those whose heads had been cut off in being prepared for the table. In The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson observes that although the standard French term for similar beef rolls is paupiettes they have an alternative name – alouettes sans tête ("larks without heads").^[2] Likewise, an alternative English name is "veal birds".^[2]

In English usage the term beef (or veal) olives dates back to at least the 16th century. John Florio in his A Worlde of Wordes (1598) refers to "That meate which we call oliues of veale".^[3] By the 18th century, beef was more commonly used than veal. Elizabeth Raffald in The Experienced English Housekeeper (1769) gives a recipe for the beef version, as in the 19th century does Mrs Beeton (1861).^[3]

Davidson comments that similar rolled and stuffed beef (or veal) dishes are found in the cookery of Germany (Rouladen),^[2] Poland (zrazy),^[2] and the Czech Republic (ptachky);^[2] in Italy, there are several names for versions of the dish, including involtini,^[2] braciola^[4] and pasteli.^[3]

Elizabeth David remarks of the French paupiettes that every cook has a different recipe for them.^[5] Recipes vary likewise for the English equivalent:

• Ayto, John (2012). The Diner's Dictionary: Word Origins of Food and Drink. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199640249.
• Beeton, Isabella (2006) [1861]. Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management. London: Bounty. ISBN 978-0-75-371400-3.
• Berry, Mary (1985). Cooking From Your Freezer. Cambridge: Martin. ISBN 978-0-85-941305-3.
• Carluccio, Antonio (2013). Antonio Carluccio's Simple Dishes. London: Quadrille. ISBN 978-1-84-949299-7.
• Carrier, Robert (1963). Great Dishes of the World. London: Thomas Nelson. OCLC 58605494.
• Ceserani, Victor; Ronald Kinton (1972). Practical Cookery. London: Edward Arnold. ISBN 978-0-71-311713-4.
• David, Elizabeth (2008) [1960]. French Provincial Cooking. London: Folio Society. OCLC 809349711.
• Davidson, Alan (1999). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-211579-9.
• Floyd, Keith (1995). The Best of Floyd. London: Michael Joseph. ISBN 978-0-71-814097-7.
• Leith, Prue (1980). Leith's Cookery Course. London: Fontana. ISBN 978-0-00-635272-3.
• Olney, Richard (1981). Beef and Veal. London: Time Life. ISBN 978-0-80-942852-6.
• Raffald, Elizabeth (1769). The Experienced English House-keeper. Manchester: Harrop. OCLC 504316342.
• Rhodes, Gary (1994). Rhodes Around Britain. London: BBC Books. ISBN 978-0-56-336440-5.
• Stewart, Katie (1972). The Times Cookery Book. London: Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-435162-9.