Struffoli

Hello everyone! I'm back from my much needed hiatus. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday week!!! I did!! The nicest time. Since I met my hubby, I have celebrated Christmas Eve with his family & my mom-in-law makes Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner. How many of my readers do this? It's a Southern Italian tradition that commemorates the wait for the birth of the baby Jesus. The preparation is exhausting for her & since I am allergic to shellfish, I cannot assist with the dinner. But I can create the dessert! And all she asked for was struffoli, another Southern Italian staple. I was happy to oblige. This is a little labor intensive but if you take it step by step, you can do it.

My favorite conversation with Mario Battali has been about Christmas, the Seven Fishes & ... Struffoli. I have done a couple of non-profit benefits with him & I see Mario some early mornings as he is traveling from Babbo to OTTO... So to honor Mario, I used his recipe:


Struffoli
(Honey Drenched Christmas Fritters)
adapted from Mario Battali via the Food Network

• 3 1/2 c flour
• 6 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced, plus 1 lemon, zested
• 1 orange, zested
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 TBSp orange juice
• 4 c canola for frying
• 2 c honey
• Powdered sugar, for dusting
• rainbow non-pareils, for ornamentation

In a mixing bowl, place flour, eggs, yolk, zest of 1 lemon, orange zest & juice, salt, & mix well to form a firm dough, 8 to 10 minutes. Place in the refrigerator & allow to rest 30 minutes.

Remove from the refrigerator & cut golf ball-sized pieces of dough from the main batch. Roll each ball into a 1/2-inch thick dowel (rope) & cut each dowel into 1/2-inch pieces. Roll each piece into a ball & continue until finished with all dough.

In a 12 to 14-inch skillet with at least 3-inch sides, heat the oil to 375 degrees F. Drop enough balls in to cover about half of the surface of frying oil & cook until dark golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to turn them regularly, & expect them to puff up while cooking. As they finish, remove them to a tray covered with paper towels, & drain well. This should take at least 5 batches.

When all of the struffoli are cooked, heat the honey, lemon juice, & zest together in a wide 6 to 8 quart saucepan until quite warm, about 150 degrees F, & substantially thinner. Add struffoli to honey & stir carefully until well coated. Remove from heat & allow to cool 5 minutes in the pan, stirring regularly. 

Arrange on a large serving tray in a wreath shape (like I did, pictured). Sprinkle with powdered sugar & nonpareils & serve.

<3 Lishie