TABELIAAUTHENTIC RECIPE
Frittelle di CarnevaleVenetian Carnival Fritters
Fried doughnuts essential to Venice’s Carnival. Yeast-raised dough with raisins, pine nuts and grated citrus zest is fried and coated in icing sugar: crisp outside, fluffy within.
AUTHENTICITY SCORE
Authenticity Score
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Ingredients (6 servings)
- Cake or all-purpose flour300 g
- Fresh yeastIf using dried yeast, use 7 g15 g
- Warm milkAround 40°C150 ml
- Eggs2
- Sugar50 g
- Unsalted butterSoftened at room temperature40 g
- Grappa or rum30 ml
- Lemon and orange zestUse Japanese-grown, unwaxed fruit; grate only the colored peel, avoiding white pith1 of each fruit, zested
- RaisinsSoak in grappa for 30 minutes80 g
- Pine nuts40 g
- Salt2 g
- Rice bran or peanut oil for fryingKeep at 180°C1000 ml
- Icing sugar for finishing30 g
Method
Soak the raisins and activate the yeast
- 1 Soak 80 g raisins in grappa or rum.
- 2 Dissolve 15 g fresh yeast and a pinch of sugar in 150 ml warm milk and leave for 5 minutes.
Ready when
After 30 minutes, continue when the raisins are plump and the yeast mixture is foaming.
Caution
Overly hot milk kills yeast; keep it around 40°C.
Knead the dough
- 1 Grate only the colored outer zest of the lemon and orange.
- 2 Mix 300 g flour, 50 g sugar and 2 g salt in a bowl.
- 3 Add the yeast mixture and knead, adding eggs 1 at a time.
- 4 Add 40 g room-temperature butter, grated citrus zest, drained raisins and pine nuts and knead further.
Ready when
Continue when the dough is soft and uniform.
First rise
- 1 Cover the dough with plastic wrap and put in a warm place at 28–30°C.
Ready when
After about 1 hour, continue when doubled to 2 times its original size.
Fry the dough
- 1 Heat the frying oil to 175–180°C.
- 2 Scoop dough with a tablespoon and gently drop into the oil.
- 3 Fry for 3–4 minutes, turning during cooking.
Ready when
They are done when golden brown.
Caution
Too many at once lowers the oil temperature; fry only a few at a time.
Coat with icing sugar
- 1 Drain on paper towels.
- 2 While hot, coat generously with 30 g icing sugar.
Caution
Their texture deteriorates when cold; dust freshly fried fritters and serve immediately.
About this dish
Venice’s Carnival is a 10-day festival of masks and costumes, among Europe’s largest. In earlier times, nobles and ordinary people wore the same masks, creating a special interval when differences of rank temporarily disappeared. Frittelle have been served from stalls, fried in large batches at home and given to friends as the food of this festival.
Raisins, pine nuts, grated citrus zest and grappa reflect the food culture accumulated by Venice as a hub of trade between East and West. Each ingredient reached Venice through Mediterranean commerce.
The few tens of seconds when icing sugar begins to melt into freshly fried dough are when this sweet is at its best. Its texture changes with time, so it is intended to be eaten straight from frying, at festivals or tables where families gather.
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