Chiacchiere di Carnevale is the delicious traditional sweet treat served in Italy on SHrove Tuesday. These yummy stripes of fried dough are very easy to make, and will make everybody lick their fingers!

Servings

 

20

Ready In:

 

60 min

Calories:

 

158

Good For:

 

Dessert

About this Recipe

By: Silvana Lanzetta

Chiacchiere di Carnevale have a very ancient origin: they date back of the Roman times, where they were offered to the population during the  Saturnalia Festival. During this celebrations, very similar to our modern Italian Carnival, people would reverse social roles and indulge in excesses. Symbols of these excesses were the frictilia, sweet treats that were fried in lard and given out to the crowd on the streets. The fampus Roman gourmet Apicius describes them as “fritters made with spelt flour and eggs, cooked in ard, and then covered with honey.”

Chiacchiere di Carnevale

Ingredients

  • 400 gr of plain flour
  • 80 gr of caster sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2  yolks
  • 5o gr of melted salted butter
  • 2-3 tbsps of aniseed liqueur, such as Sambuca or Pastis
  • The zest of a orange
  • Icing sugar as needed

 

A popular anedoct wants that the modern version of the chiacchiere di carnevale were created in Naples when the queen of Savoy, having lost herself in a long chat, realised that she was hungry and asked the cour cook, Raffaele Esposito, to prepare a sweet treat. The chicchiere were given this name (chatters) in honour of this episode.

However, they are called in different ways, depending of the area of Italy where theyare made:

Bugie (lies) in Liguria and Piedmont, Frappole in Emilia Romagna, Galani in Venice, Cenci (rags) in Tuscany, Frappe in Rome, and Maraviglias (wonder) in Sardinia.

sugar eggs and flour
orange zest

Nutrition

 

Per 100 gr of cooked chiacchiere

  • Proteins 15% 15%
  • Carbs 18% 18%
  • Fats 55% 55%
Chiacchiere di carnevale

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

Place the flour in a large bowl. form a well in the middle, and dd the sugar, the eggs, the melted butter, the grated orange zest, and the liqueur.

Step 2

Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, until you get a smooth even dough. Form a ball,  cover with a clean tea towel and let stand for 30 minutes.

Step 3

Dust with a little flour a clean flat surface. Pull with a rolling pin a very thin sheet, about 2 mm thick. 

The thickness of the chiacchiere di carnevale varies from region to region. Usually in the north are extremely thin, almost paper like, whereas in the south, in Naples especially, are thicker. 

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Step 4

With a pastry wheel, cut the sheets in rectangles of 10 x 5 cm (4″ x 2″).  Score each rectangle with a long cut down the middle, making sure that at least one of the shorter edges stays whole.

Step 5

Knot and/or  braid each rectangle as you wish. The chiacchiere di Carnevale must have whimsical shapes: let your imagination lose and have fun!

Step 6

Heat abundant vegetable oil in a deep pot. Fry the chiacchiere in small batches, until the get a lovely golden colour. Let them dry on kitchen paper towels, then dust them with icing sugar.

Tips!

In Naples we use aniseed liqueur to flavour our chiacchiere di carnevale. In other parts of Italy, other alcohol is used. Marsala, Strega, Rum, Moscato are traditionally also used to flavour them. If you feel extra fancy, you can also use limoncello!

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Chiacchiere di Carnevale

Chiacchiere di Carnevale: Carnival fried dough


  • Author: Silvana
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 20 portions 1x

Description

Chiacchiere di Carnevale is the delicious traditional sweet treat served in Italy on Shrove Tuesday. These yummy stripes of fried dough are very easy to make, and will make everybody lick their fingers!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 400 grams of plain flour
  • 80 grams of caster sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 yolks
  • 50 grams of melted salted butter
  • 23 tbsps of aniseed liqueur, such as Sambuca or Pastis
  • The zest of a orange
  • Icing sugar as needed

Instructions

  1. Place the flour in a large bowl. form a well in the middle, and dd the sugar, the eggs, the melted butter, the grated orange zest, and the liqueur.
  2. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, until you get a smooth even dough. Form a ball,  cover with a clean tea towel and let stand for 30 minutes.
  3. Dust with a little flour a clean flat surface. Pull with a rolling pin a very thin sheet, about 2 mm thick. 

    The thickness of the chiacchiere di carnevale varies from region to region. Usually in the north are extremely thin, almost paper like, whereas in the south, in Naples especially, are thicker. 

  4. With a pastry wheel, cut the sheets in rectangles of 10 x 5 cm (4″ x 2″).  Score each rectangle with a long cut down the middle, making sure that at least one of the shorter edges stays whole.
  5. Knot and/or  braid each rectangle as you wish. The chiacchiere di Carnevale must have whimsical shapes: let your imagination lose and have fun!
  6. Heat abundant vegetable oil in a deep pot. Fry the chiacchiere in small batches, until the get a lovely golden colour. Let them dry on kitchen paper towels, then dust them with icing sugar.

Notes

In Naples we use aniseed liqueur to flavour our chiacchiere di carnevale. In other parts of Italy, other alcohol is used. Marsala, Strega, Rum, Moscato are traditionally also used to flavour them. If you feel extra fancy, you can also use limoncello!

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Rest Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Category: Desserts
  • Cuisine: Italian
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