Cjarsons della CarniaCarnia Cjarsons

Drain the ricotta and soak the raisins

• 1 Meanwhile(While draining) cut 25 g candied citron into 3 mm dice.
• 2 Meanwhile(While draining) put 25 g amaretti in a sturdy plastic bag and crush finely with a rolling pin.
• 3 Spread 150 g fresh ricotta in a sieve lined with kitchen paper over a bowl and drain in the refrigerator for 2 hours to about 120 g.
• 4 Soak 30 g raisins in 200 ml lukewarm water at about 40°C for 20 minutes.
• 5 Firmly squeeze the soaked raisins dry by hand, roughly chop and set aside on a small plate.

Boil and sieve the potatoes, dividing them for dough and filling

• 1 Meanwhile(While boiling) wash 80 g spinach and very finely mince 50 g onion.
• 2 Wash 240 g dough potatoes and 190 g filling potatoes thoroughly, both weighed raw with skins. Arrange similarly sized potatoes in a pot and cover with water.
• 3 Bring to a boil over high heat, lower to medium and maintain a gentle boil for 25–35 minutes.
• 4 Lift the cooked potatoes from the water and peel while hot, holding with a cloth to avoid burns.
• 5 Pass all the potatoes through a sieve while hot, yielding about 340 g, then weigh into separate trays: 190 g for the dough and 150 g for the filling.

Make the potato dough while warm

• 1 Meanwhile(While making the dough) spread the 150 g sieved filling potatoes thinly on a tray and cool at room temperature.
• 2 Spread the 190 g warm sieved dough potatoes on the worktop, add 10 g butter softened at room temperature and 2 g salt, then cut and mix with a dough scraper to distribute.
• 3 Sprinkle in 70 g of the 105 g flour and cut through with the scraper to form a crumbly mixture.
• 4 Add 1 room-temperature egg yolk and knead for 3–4 minutes, repeatedly pressing out with the heel of your hand and folding back.
• 5 Gradually add the remaining 35 g flour to form a smooth mass of about 325 g that barely sticks to your hands.
• 6 Shape into a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

Rest the dough at room temperature

• 1 Meanwhile(While resting) prepare the filling in steps 5 and 6.
• 2 Rest the wrapped dough for 30 minutes at room temperature, 20–24°C.

Prepare the filling aromatics and herbs

• 1 Meanwhile(While the onion cooks) start bringing 1 L water to a boil over high heat in a small pot for the spinach.
• 2 Melt 15 g butter in a frying pan over low heat, add 50 g very finely minced onion and cook for 8–10 minutes until translucent and sweet-smelling without browning.
• 3 Boil 80 g spinach for 1 minute, transfer to cold water, squeeze firmly, mince extremely finely and squeeze once more by hand to about 25 g.
• 4 Pour 15 ml grappa over the cooked onion, raise to medium heat and boil for 30–40 seconds to drive off the alcohol smell; remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
• 5 Finely chop the leaves of 8 g mint, 4 g lemon balm, 3 g marjoram and 8 g flat-leaf parsley and combine on a small plate.

Combine the sweet-and-savory filling

• 1 Put 150 g cooled sieved potatoes and about 120 g drained ricotta in a bowl and cut through with a wooden spoon, without kneading, until uniform.
• 2 Add the chopped herbs, squeezed spinach and cooled onion with all its pan juices; mix to distribute.
• 3 Mix in the chopped raisins, 25 g citron and 25 g crushed amaretti.
• 4 Add 5 g sifted unsweetened cocoa, 15 g granulated sugar, 1.5 g cinnamon, 0.5 g freshly grated nutmeg, the grated zest of 1 lemon, 2 g salt and 1 g black pepper; mix until the color is even.
• 5 Add 15 g breadcrumbs in 2 additions, mixing and checking consistency after each, for about 500 g total filling.
• 6 Cover with plastic wrap pressed against the surface.

Chill the filling to firm it

• 1 Meanwhile(While chilling) prepare 30 g dusting flour, an 8 cm round cutter, a damp cloth and a floured tray on the worktop.
• 2 Refrigerate the covered filling for 30 minutes to firm.

Roll very thinly and cut 48 rounds

• 1 Divide the dough into 4 and keep the 3 unused portions wrapped.
• 2 On a worktop lightly dusted with a little of the 30 g flour, roll 1 portion from the center outward into a translucent sheet 1 mm thick.
• 3 Cut with an 8 cm round cutter, about 5.5 g per 1 round, and cover the rounds with a damp cloth.
• 4 Gather and lightly press the scraps together, then roll again and cut more rounds.
• 5 Repeat with the remaining 3 portions to make 48 rounds in total.

Fill and seal 48 cjarsons

• 1 Place 10 g filling, a little more than 1 level tsp, in the center of 1 round and lightly wet a 1 cm border with your fingertip.
• 2 Fold into a half-moon and firmly press the edges between thumb and forefinger, pushing air out from beside the filling.
• 3 Pinch the sealed edge every 3–4 mm with a fork tip or your fingertips to form pleats.
• 4 Arrange without overlapping on a floured tray and repeat for 48 pieces, using 480 g filling.
• 5 Cover the shaped cjarsons with a dry cloth and keep at room temperature until boiling.

Warm the plates, brown the butter and grate smoked ricotta

• 1 Meanwhile(While browning the butter) bring 4 L water to the boil over high heat in a large pot with 40 g coarse salt.
• 2 Heat the oven to 70°C and put 4 serving plates inside to warm.
• 3 Finely grate 60 g smoked ricotta into a fluffy powder and gather on a small plate.
• 4 Mix 8 g finishing sugar with 1 g finishing cinnamon in a small bowl.
• 5 Melt 60 g butter in a small heavy frying pan over medium-low heat and cook for 4–6 minutes, gently swirling, until the bubbles become fine and brown milk solids settle on the base.
• 6 As soon as it turns hazelnut-colored, turn off the heat and set the pan on a damp cloth to stop residual cooking.

Cook 12 at a time and finish each plate separately

• 1 Reduce the heat under the boiling water to just below boiling, around 90°C, with the surface barely trembling and small bubbles at the edges, a state called frèmere in Italian.
• 2 Gently lower 12 cjarsons into the water and release them from the base just once with a wooden spoon.
• 3 Cook for a further 2 minutes after they float, then lift 1 at a time with a slotted ladle, drain and arrange without overlap on 1 warm plate from the oven.
• 4 Rewarm the browned butter over low heat for 10 seconds and drizzle 15 g over that plate.
• 5 Scatter with 15 g grated smoked ricotta and sprinkle 1/4 of the cinnamon sugar over the entire plate with your fingers; serve immediately.
• 6 Cook the remaining 36 in 3 more batches of 12, finishing each warm plate in turn with 15 g butter, 15 g smoked ricotta and 1/4 of the cinnamon sugar, and serve consecutively.