A Carnival cake of the Abruzzo tradition. Easy to do even at home. Here is the recipe of chef Rosanna Di Michele
Just looking at it puts joy. It will be for the decorations of the multicolored chocolate tails that look like confetti. But the cicerchiata, Carnival cake par excellence of the Abruzzo region, is a joy also for the palate.
The chef Rosanna Di Michele
The name derives from the cicerchie, legumes that have their origins in the Middle Ages and recall in the form the fried dough cubes of which the cicerchiata is made. The main ingredient is honey, according to the chef Rosanna Di Michele, Vastese with the suitcase always ready for the States where for some years promotes the typical recipes of his land. "It is a particularly common sweet in the province of Chieti, in the area of Sangro-Aventino that produces and exports honey of the highest quality (famous that of Tornareccio, natural, untreated and rich in vitamins and enzymes ndr)", explains Rosanna, contagious smile which has won many celebrities including Valeria Golino and Pino Daniele during her show cooking in the Big Apple.
«I remember that when I was a little girl, I would make the cicerchiata with my mother an exciting game: cut the dough and shape the balls that had to be all the same, says the chef who prepared this recipe for the Italian Carnival celebrations in New York last year. "It must be underlined that, at first sight, the cicerchiata looks very similar to the Neapolitan struffoli. But it's not like that: the struffoli are bigger and eaten at Christmas and not at Carnevale, "concludes Rosanna, who is currently working on the launch of an Italian restaurant in Harlem, 23 Winehouse.
Here, then, his family recipe of the cicerchiata
Cicerchiata ingredients (for 6 people)
500 g of flour, 5 eggs, 7 tablespoons of sugar, 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 450 g of honey, tails of colored chocolate and flakes of almonds to decorate, extra virgin olive oil for frying.
Preparation
Place the flour on a work surface and pour the eggs, sugar (5 tablespoons) and extra virgin olive oil. Start working the dough until it becomes homogeneous. Leave to rest for 30 minutes and then form the thin pastry strings about 1 cm from which to make the cubes. Bring the extra-virgin olive oil to temperature, fry the diced dough, drain and place on the absorbent paper. Take a large pot, pour the sugar (2 tablespoons) and honey. When the mixture becomes fluid, toss the diced and almond flakes and, using a wooden spoon, make small piles of pasta (the hands must be wet) on a flat surface and choose the shape you like best (single-portion or donut ). Finally decorate the cicerchiata with colorful sprinkles.
Text Antonia Matarrese
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