Recipes, Traditions · 30 Gennaio 2024
CHIACCHIERE: CRISP CARNIVAL PASTRIES
Difficulty
Prep time
Cook time
Servings
Season
Chiacchiere: Crisp Carnival Pastries
Carnival celebrates pleasure, free will and, above all, release from guilt.
That is why, historically, from north to south, we fry sweets in February and share them joyfully.
Chiacchiere: the month’s most overused word. These fried pastries have enjoyed the greatest success and spread throughout Italy.
They accompany every regional recipe, almost like panettone.
Indeed, they have probably eclipsed other traditional preparations such as cutumè, whose recipe I have already shared with you.
https://federicagenovese.com/cutume-dolci-alla-ricotta/
I, Federica Genovese, have to Sicilianise every recipe that passes through my hands. So my chiacchiere, which I hope will become yours too, use ingredients from my homeland.
The special touch is Marsala, the fortified wine, together with grated organic orange zest and ancient Sicilian wheat flour.
The difference between chiacchiere and other fried Carnival sweets is their texture: these are crisp, delicate and thin.
The other recipes produce soft fritters,
then coated with granulated sugar or honey.
There are also even more indulgent versions filled with cream or ricotta, such as delicious bignole.
It is a broad repertoire, offering plenty of scope to satisfy everyone’s tastes.
But today, chiacchiere!
what’s
needed.
for dusting
Metod:
Step by step
Place the flour, sugar and butter in the stand mixer and start mixing. The butter must be soft, so remove it from the refrigerator at least an hour beforehand.
Add the grated orange zest, followed by the eggs, Marsala and extra virgin olive oil.
If the dough is too firm, add another egg.
When smooth and elastic, remove from the mixer bowl and place on a lightly floured pastry board.
Ideally, roll it out with a pasta machine, the “nonna papera”, as the sheet must be extremely thin. Set the machine to its thinnest setting and pass the dough through the rollers.
Alternatively, work very thoroughly with a rolling pin!
Use a pastry wheel to cut rectangles, making slits in each.
Heat the oil in a large pan. When hot, add a few rectangles at a time and turn them with a large fork or spatula.
Cooking must be brief or they will burn. As soon as golden, drain off excess oil and place on kitchen paper.
Dust with icing sugar and serve.
FEDERICA’S TIPS
Roll the dough very thinly for delicate, crisp chiacchiere. Fry only a few at a time and watch them closely, as they colour quickly. Let them drain and cool before dusting generously with icing sugar.
― storage and serving ―