Chiacchiere, literally ‘chatter’ or ‘little gossips’, are delicious traditional treats often enjoyed in Italy to celebrate the Carnival season in February and March. These are thin, crunchy pieces of lemon-infused fried pastry dusted with a delicious layer of icing sugar. Named for the noise they make when bitten into, chiacchiere cannot be consumed quietly but we assure you they are worth the fuss!
Our head chef Roberta is partial to a chiacchiere or two herself, and today we’re sharing her family recipe, passed down through the d’Elia family for years.
How To Make Roberta’s Classic Chiacchiere
Serves: up to 6
Prep Time: 1½ hours
Calories per serving: 450 kcal
Ingredients
- 300g “00” flour
- 2 eggs
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 100g icing sugar (2 x 50g portions)
- pinch of salt
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil (plus a lot more for frying)
- 3 tbsp limoncello
- 3 tbsp white wine (Roberta recommends a top-quality Pinot Grigio)
Method
- Pour the flour onto a flat surface and form it into a mound with a small well in the middle.
- Break the eggs into the well along with the salt, 50g icing sugar, and lemon zest, and start mixing with your fingers to combine them with the flour.
- When the mixture starts to come together, add the wine, sunflower oil, and limoncello, mixing as carefully as you can. The mixture should begin to thicken and form a dough.
- Once the dough has been formed, wrap it with cling film or a clean tea towel and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
- After this, divide the dough into smaller balls, weighing roughly 100g, and roll out each piece individually. Flatten the ball slightly with the palm of your hand and then use a rolling pin to stretch the dough into a thin sheet (you can use the pasta machine to help at this stage if you have one).
- Put the pasta sheets to one side and pour a generous amount of sunflower oil into a large frying pan (enough to submerge your chiacchiere). Heat the oil to a very high temperature.
- With a pasta cutting wheel, shape the sheet of dough into rectangles of about 5cm x 10cm and make two central incisions on each piece down the length of the rectangle.
- As soon as the oil is hot, fry 2-3 rectangles of pastry at a time (make sure they don’t stick together or to the pan). Turn them on both sides until they are golden.
- Drain the pastry pieces on several sheets of kitchen towel to remove the excess oil and, once cooled, stack them and sprinkle with plenty of icing sugar.
- Your delicious chiacchiere are ready to serve, buon appetite!
Indulge in the magic of Venice! Our limited-edition Venetian Carnival menu awaits you, with tantalising dishes like Alfredo Veneziano – our decadent twist on the classic pasta Alfredo, made with buttery Asiago cheese straight from Venice – and exquisite Venetian Style Cod Ravioli. Experience the carnival in-store at one of our restaurants or bring the celebration home with delivery.
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