Ingredients
240 grams (about 8 1/2 ounces) flour
20 grams (about 2/3 of an ounce) butter
20 grams (about 2/3 of an ounce) icing sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon brandy
a pinch of salt
oil or lard for deep frying
For dusting
Icing sugar
Original Italian text
Farina, grammi 240
Burro, grammi 20
zucchero in polvere, gramma 20
Uova, No. 2
Acquavite, cucciaiate N. 1
Sale, un pizzico
Directions
Mix the ingredients and work into a rather firm dough.
Flour it, wrap it in a cloth, and then allow it to rest.
If the dough is too soft, add more flour.
Roll it out to the thickness of a coin, and using a pastry cutter with serrated edges, cut into strips about as large as your palm, and two or three fingers long.
Make some incisions in the strips so that they can be folded, twisted, or curled into strange shapes when they go into the frying pan which should be sizzling with oil or lard.
Cool, sprinkle with icing sugar.
Original Italian text
Fate con questio ingredienti una pasta piuttosto soda, lavoratela moltissimo con le mani e lasciatela un poco in riposo, infarinata e involtala in un canovaccio.
Se vi riuscisse tenera in modo da non poterla lavorare, aggiungete altra farina. Tiratene una sfoglia della grossezza d'uno scudo, e col coltello o colla rotellina smerli, tagliatela a striscie lunghe un palmo circa e laarghe due e tre dita. Fate in codeste striscie quelche incisions per ripiegarle o intrecciarle o accartocciarle onde vadano in padella (ove l'unto, oilio o lardo, deve galleggire) con forme bizzarre. Spolverizatele con zucchero a velo quando non saranno piu bollenti. Basta questa dose per farne un gran piatto. Sil pane lasciato in riposo avesse fatto la crosticina, tornatelo a lavorare.
Notes
The recipe in this entry was taken from "La Scienza in Cucina e L'Arte di Mangiar Bene manuale Pratico per le Famiglie" compilato da Pellegrino Artusi. The book was first published in 1891. Since then many Italian editions have been published. English translations of this cookbook under the title "Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well" are available. At www.archive.org Olga Ragusa's selection of recipes from Pellegrino's famous Italian cookbook can be found in its entirety (It's free to download). Her selection entitled, "The Italian Cook Book," was first published in 1945 by S.F. Vanni.... Photo: Mary Melfi. |
