Carnival Recipes in Umbria

#COOK WITH UMBRIASI

We told you about Carnival, its origins and traditional Umbrian desserts.
Today here we bring you the recipes of the Carnival:
Prepare the apron, the work surface and ready to knead and then enjoy!

FRAPPE

Ingredients
500 g of 00 flour
3 eggs
Lemon peel to taste
1 teaspoon baking powder
250 g of butter
100 g of sugar
1 pinch of salt

For frying
1 liter of peanut oil

To decorate
Powdered sugar/honey or alkermes

Method
Create a fountain of flour on the work surface and arrange the baking powder in the centre, start mixing flour and baking powder, then always in the center add the eggs, the lemon peel (pay attention to the white part of the lemon which is more bitter) and the pinch of salt. Once the ingredients are mixed, add the butter at room temperature and the sugar. The dough will be ready when it is smooth, homogeneous and will come off easily from your hands. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes covered with cling film.
After 30 minutes, roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it forms a sheet that is not too thin. With the washer, cut the dough into rectangular strips with a small cut in the center where you pass one end of the frappa through the middle, simulating a bow.
Fry the frappe in hot oil for about 5 minutes. Once ready and cooled, decorate them with icing sugar, honey or alchermes as you like

CASTAGNOLE

Ingredients
230 g of 00 flour
2 eggs
½ sachet of baking powder
4 Tablespoons of sugar
1 small glass of liqueur (mistrà, sambuca)
50 ml of milk at room temperature
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Lemon peel to taste
1 pinch of salt

To frying
Plenty of peanut oil

To decorate
Icing sugar/honey or alchermes and colored sugared almonds

Method
Break the eggs into a small bowl and mix with the sugar until you have a frothy and light consistency. The sugar must be well mixed. Add the sambuca, slowly add the milk and oil and finally the grated lemon peel (pay attention to the white part, as above!). Mix everything until all the ingredients are well blended. Then add the flour and baking powder until you get a batter-like consistency.Let the mixture rest covered for about 10-15 minutes.Pour the batter into hot oil (help yourself with a spoon to form balls) and turn them halfway through cooking. Once ready, decorate with alchermes honey sugar and colored sprinkles

N.B There are variations that also include filling them with cream, chocolate cream or cream!

STRUFOLI

Ingredients
400 g of flour
6 eggs
6 tablespoons of sugar
1 small glass of Mistrà or Sambuca
1 lemon peel and lemon juice
1 cup of milk
25 g of baking powder
6 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil

To frying

2 liters of peanut oil

To decorate

Honey

Method

With a whisk, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until you obtain a frothy consistency. Whip the remaining egg whites until stiff and add them to the yolks and mix well. Add the lemon peels and slowly add the oil and milk.
Gradually add the flour, baking powder, lemon juice and liqueur. Knead until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough. Sprinkle it with oil and cover it with a cloth to let it rest for at least 2 hours.
Slide the balls of dough into the hot oil (again with the help of a spoon). To help the dough remain round, slowly rotate the pan (with the handles) in which you are frying the strufoli (be careful! )
Once cooled, sprinkle them with honey melted in a bain-marie.

CICERCHIATA UMBRA

Ingredients
300 g of 00 flour
30 g of butter
3 eggs
1/2 grated lemon peel
Alchermes to taste

To frying
2 liters of peanut oil

To decorate
400 g of honey
colorful candies
dried fruit like almonds cut into strips
100 g of candied fruit

Method
On a pastry board, mix the flour with the eggs, the lemon peel, the butter at room temperature and the liqueur until a homogeneous and smooth consistency is obtained. Create sausages from the dough from which to obtain the irregular balls cut with a knife and fry them in hot oil. Heat the butter and once melted, pour the fried balls and mix well. Then add the sugared almonds, candied fruit and almonds to taste.
Then cut into strips 150 gr. of peeled almond

 

CRESCIONDA SPOLETINA

Ingredients
50 g of 00 flour
70 g of sugar
4 eggs
500ml of milk
200 g of macaroons
50 ml of mistrà liqueur
100 g of dark chocolate
1 grated lemon peel

Method
With a whisk or mixer, blend the amaretti biscuits. Then proceed by beating the yolks with the sugar until you get a frothy consistency; then add the minced chocolate, the liqueur and the milk slowly. Finally, the amaretti biscuits and the flour little by little, together with the grated lemon. Whip the egg whites until stiff which will then be joined to the mixture from bottom to top. Grease and flour a baking tray (24 cm in diameter) and bake at 180° for 60 minutes.

Credit photo
UmbriaTourism
Forchettiere.it
Antonio Gravante
2Amiche in Cucina
Fonte Cesia
Kasanova

San Costanzo’s Torcolo

The typical sweet of the tradition to celebrate San Costanzo is, in fact, the Torcolo, behind which there are many legends and mysteries related to the Saint that still today make this sweet full of charm and history.

In fact, it is handed down that the torcolo is in the shape of a donut to remember the crown and flowers that were placed on the body of the Saint after the decapitation or even that the hole represents the severed head of the Saint and lastly that its donut shape refers to the crown paraded from the head of the Saint once he was beheaded. That’s why a dessert studded with colored candies, in memory of the precious stones of the color! The five cuts on the donut are, however, attributable to the access doors to the five districts of the historic center of Perugia: Porta San Pietro, Porta Sole, Porta Eburnea, Porta Susanna, and Porta Sant’Angelo.

The torcolo di San Costanzo, despite the great importance it holds during the feast of January 29, is a dessert that is now enjoyed in Umbria throughout the year!

Let’s see the Recipe:

Ingredients:
600 g of flour
330 g of warm water
170 g of sugar
85 g of extra virgin olive oil
1 egg
85 g of butter
25 g of brewer’s yeast
170 g of candied citron
170 g of sultana raisins
170 g of pine nuts
anise seeds to taste

Method:
Arrange the flour on a pastry board, or in a bowl, crumble the yeast in the center and begin to knead with the warm water, gradually collecting the flour from the edges. Once the dough is homogeneous and well blended, let it rest and rise for about 2 hours in a warm, dry place.

Once the leavening is complete, turn the dough over (it should double) onto the work surface, spreading it slightly with the palm of your hand and add the butter cut into small pieces (room temperature), the sugar and the oil. Once the ingredients are mixed, add the diced candied citron, the raisins, the pine nuts, anise to taste. Knead it until all the candied fruit and dried fruit are well blended, form the donut and put it in a buttered cake pan to let it rise for about 3 hours.

After the last leavening, brush the surface of the Torcolo with egg yolk and make 5 light cuts with the tip of the knife.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180° for about 45 minutes.

Recommended pairing: Vernaccia di Cannara or Umbrian Vinsanto.