Tag: calabrian christmas tradition

TURDILLI CALABRESI – MURINIADDI – RAVIOLI FRITTI

Posted on by schipanofinefoods

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 1 cup red vermouth (or Dry Marsala)
  • 4 eggs
  • 8 cups flour (+- 1 kilo flour)
  • 1 bag of Pane degli Angeli baking powder (16 grams)
  • About 2 cups honey, warm
  • 1 block of pure lard to fry

 


Instructions

Sift together the flour with baking powder and set aside.

In the bowl (or a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), mix together oil, sugar and eggs until well blended. 

Add dry ingredients until mixture forms a mass.  

Scrape the dough onto a very lightly floured board. Knead lightly until smooth. Shape the dough into a ball and flatten. Dust the top lightly with flour, cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and let it rest for 1 hour to allow the dough to relax.

Roll into logs and cut one inch pieces.  Roll down on fork or gnocchi board.  The deeper the grooves on the cookies the better as they puff up as they fry and the ridges, unless deep, tend to disappear.

Heat the lard in a deep pan to 365 degrees F. Deep fry until golden brown.  Each batch should include enough cookies to cover the surface of the oil. Any fewer and the oil gets too hot and browns the cookies before they are cooked through. Stir the cookies while they fry so they do not stick together. Remove cookies just as they turn a light milk chocolate color or a little before. Drain on paper towels.

In a large pot heat the honey and when it is bubbling add the cookies. Toss the cookies several times as they coating with honey. If the cookies absorb all the honey, add more – they should be fully saturated. 

 

NOTE: My grandfather used to make them all the times we were craving them without tossing in honey. They are very common in my village Olivadi and neighbors towns, where are usually called Muriniaddi or Ravioli. 

They are a great snack or afternoon treat to accompany your coffee.

Buon Appetito!

 

Zippuli (Crispelle) Calabrisi

Posted on by schipanofinefoods

Zeppole Calabresi

• 1.5 kg of flour

• 500 g of potatoes

• 4 grams of dry active yeast

• about 1 l of water

• 30 g of salt

—–

To fill:

• anchovies, ‘nduja, caciocavallo, soppressata,

Directions:

Wash the potatoes and put them in a saucepan with salt water and cook for 30 minutes from the moment it starts boiling. Do the toothpick test anyways.

When cooked, peel the potatoes while still hot. and pass them in the potato masher.

Meanwhile, in a large container pour about half a liter of water and dissolve salt and mashed potatoes.

Dissolve yeast in the other half liter of lukewarm water. Once the salt and the yeast have melted, start to incorporate flour, continuing to knead vigorously until you get a smooth and kind of sticky dough.

Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rise for about 3 hours of doubling.

After rising, the dough should be soft and slightly sticky. To form the zeppole, rub your hands with canola oil and take one piece of pasta at a time. Fill them with a piece of anchovy or with the ingredient of your liking.

Fry in plenty of oil. To see if the oil is ready to fry dip a toothpick and if it is boiling around the wood then you are ready to fry.

NOTE: In Calabrian dialect they are called “Zippuli” (in the singular “zippula”), a term deriving from the late Latin “zippula”, which was a dessert prepared with leavened dough and honey.