Carnival Chiacchiere / Cenci / Bugie / Sfrappole / Frappe / Galani / Crostoli...

How many names there are for these fried sweets typical for the Carnival period here in Italy.  It seems that every region and sometimes even just a town has a particular name for these. I'm kind of  fond of "cenci" because when I first arrived to Italy I lived in Pisa, and that's what they call them there. I used to buy them at that time, as I had no idea they were so simple to make at home.
But then moving over to Modena, I found that I didn't like the store bought ones any more. The truth is, although the basic recipe is very simple and the basic ingredients very limited, everywhere you go, you'll find they're made in a slightly different way, with the addition of this or that. Thinner of thicker. They may have a slightly different shape. Sometimes they are even baked in the oven, but it's not the same thing, trust me.
So, it's been two years now that I've started making them at home. I'm pretty satisfied with the result. They're thin (pasta maker is essential for that), really crisp and full of little lumps just as they should be, and so contagious, once you start you just can't stop eating them.

Carnival Chiachiere / Cenci...


* 250 g AP flour
* 2 eggs
* 25 g softened butter
* 20 g sugar
* 1 organic orange 
* 1 shot glass (30 ml) of grappa, vin santo or another liquor (I've also used limoncello)
* salt
* powdered sugar 
* oil for frying (I always use peanut oil)

Sift the flour on a kneading board. Mix it with salt and finely grated orange zest.
Make a well in the middle and add the sugar, the cubed, softened butter, and the lightly beaten eggs.
Start mixing the eggs with the butter and the sugar with the tips of your fingers. Then slowly incorporate the surrounding flour while adding the liquor. Bring everything together and knead until the dough is smooth. It should be rather stiff and not sticky, more or less like pasta dough. Wrap the dough in a piece of plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.




Divide the dough into 4 parts. Take one of them, flatten it a little and then run it through the widest setting on your pasta machine. Fold it into thirds and roll it again. Adjust the pasta machine to a lower setting and roll the  pasta again. Repeat the folding and re-rolling once again, then proceed working the dough through the settings of the machine until you reach the lowest one and the dough is really thin.



Cut the dough into 10x6 cm rectangles and make two cuts in the middle of each.
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and fry one or two chiacchiere at a time. The bubles on top are a sign you did everything perfectly. Flip them to fry evenly on the other side two - it really takes a few seconds so don't leave them alone.
Take them out with a slotted spoon and leave on several leyers of kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.



Sprinkle with a generous amount of powdered sugar before serving as chiacchiere themselves aren't very sweet. 

Chiachiere / Cenci / Sfrappole...


* 250 g di farina "00"
* 2 uova
* 25 g di burro
* 20 g di zucchero semolato
* 1 arancia non trattata 
* 1 bicchierino (30 ml) di grappa, vin santo o un'altro liquore a scelta
* sale
* zucchero a velo 
* olio di arachidi per friggere


Setacciate la farina sulla spianatoia, mescolatevi un pizzico di sale e la scorza grattugiata d'arancia. Fate la fontana al centro, unite lo zucchero semolato e il burro morbido a pezzetti e versate al centro le uova leggermente sbattute.
Cominciate a impastare con le dita, mescolando prima le uova con il burro e la farina, versate la grappa e lavorate a piene mani unendo se necessario altra grappa.
Quando la pasta è omogenea, formate una palla, avvolgetela nella pellicola e lasciatela riposare per 30 minuti (anche un'ora).
Dividete la pasta in 4 pezzi. Appiattitene uno e passatelo tra i rulli della macchina per la pasta regolati sullo spazio più largo. Piegate la pasta in tre parti e passatela di nuovo alla macchina nel senso opposto al precedente. Avvicinate i rulli di una tacca, passate di nuovo la pasta, piegatela un'altra volta in tre, ripassatela. Continuate poi a passare la pasta stringendo man mano lo spazio fino al ultima tacca.
Stendete in questo modo tutta la pasta. Poi, con una rotella dentellata tagliate la pasta in rettangoli di circa 10x6 cm e incideteli in due punti.
Friggete le chiacchiere in abbondante olio ben caldo, per pochi secondi (attenti che si bruciano in un'attimo). Scolatele quando sono dorate e croccanti, e mettetele su carta assorbente da cucina.
Servitele spolverizzate con abbondante zucchero a velo.

Kroštuli / Chiachiere / Cenci...



* 250 g glatkog brašna
* 2 jaja
* 25 g maslaca sobne temperature
* 20 g di sitnog kristal šećera
* 1 neprskana naranča
* 1 čašica (30 ml) rakije, loze, prošeka ili nekog drugog likera
* sol
* šećer u prahu za posipanje 
* ulje za prženje (koristim uvijek ulje od kikirikija)


Prosijte brašno na radnu površinu, dodajte prstohvat soli i sitno naribanu koricu naranče. 
Napravite udubinu u sredini i dodajte šećer, omekšali maslac narezan na komadiće, a zatim i lagano razmućena jaja. Počnite mijesiti tako što ćete prvo vršcima prstiju miješati jaja s maslacem i šećerom, polako dodajite okolno brašno i postepeno dodajite rakiju ili drugi liker po izboru. Izmijesite zatim dobro tijesto dok nije glatko i podatno, ali dosta čvrsto - ne smije biti ljepljivo.
Omotajte tijesto prozirnom folijom i ostavite ga da odmara 30 minuta do 1 sat.
Podijelite tijesto na 4 jednaka dijela. Uzmite prvi dio i malo ga rastanjite, a zatim ga provucite kroz stroj za tjesteninu namješten na najširi podiok. Preklopite dobivenu traku na troje i ponovno je provucite na stroj, ali u suprotnom smjeru od prethodnog. Smanjite za jedan podiok, provucite traku od tijesta, ponovno je preklopite na troje i provucite još jedanput na istom podioku, a zatim nastavite provlačiti smanjujući svaki put za jedan podiok, do zadnjega.
Ponovite postupak s preostala 3 dijela tijesta.
Izrežite tijesto nazubljenim kotačićem na pravokutnike otprilike 10x6 cm i svaki zarežite dva puta po sredini.
Pržite kroštule u vrućem ulju s obje strane - par sekundi je dovoljno do dobiju svijetlo zlatnu boju. Vadite ih na nekoliko slojeva kuhinjskog papira da se ocijedi višak masnoće.
Poslužite ih obilno posute šećerom u prahu.

*Prošle godine sam tijesto zamijesila s limoncellom, a ove godine sam imala dalmatinskog prošeka.