frittelle Archives - Very EATalian

Tasting Frittelle in Venice | Very EATalian-4

Tasting Frittelle in Venice | Very EATalian-29

Tasting Frittelle in Venice | Very EATalian #carnevale

When I returned to Italy last June, I knew it would have been for a “short” time (1 year) so I made a promise to myself: I would try to do things that I always wanted to do here but that, for one reason or another, I never really managed to. I’m happy to announce that last week I was able to check off one item on this list: eating frittelle in Venice!

I kidnapped my cousin Sara early in the morning and we took the train to Venice for a serious frittelle-tasting expedition. Yes, my initial plan was to “pastry-shop hop” from the moment we arrived to the moment we left — I wanted to gather valuable documentation and build a pastry-shop itinerary to share on this blog! It was a great idea in theory…but I definitely over-estimated my ability to eat fried sweets in a 6-hour span. After the first two stops and four different kinds of (huge) frittelle, our bellies were asking for a truce. Our mission was declared unaccomplished shortly before lunch, when we decided to turn our day-trip into a more relaxed stroll around the city.
The first thing I noticed about Venetian frittelle was their size: I’d say they’re easily twice as big as the ones I’m used to eating at any pastry shop back home. Being a confection that’s especially made for this time of the year (Carnival), everybody wants them! When we walked into Pasticceria Tonolo, there was such a huge crowd I could barely see the spread of pastries on display. Pasticceria Tonolo is an institution in Venice and it’s been around since 1886. Although their frittelle con zabaione (a shell of fried dough containing zabaione custard) were quite good, my heart was conquered by their Fritoe Venexiane (the classic Venetian-style frittelle – i.e.: a fried dough ball with raisins). It was SO incredibly soft — after the first bite, Sara and I stared at each other in awe and said the same exact thing: “Che buona!!“.

The other pastry shop we visited was Rosa Salva. There, they make Venetian-style frittelle “the old way” – i.e., with a hole in the middle. I must say their appearance confused me as I initially thought they were apple fritters. We had them while they were still warm and, because of this, they were softer and very aromatic. I was surprised to find out their frittelle with chantilly cream also included raisins; what I thought it was over-kill turned out to be quite a delicious combo.

We then checked out the Rialto market (another check on my list!) which offered good photo opportunities. After that, we did the best thing you can do in Venice: get lost and discover new alleys hiding cute little shops or beautiful buildings (like Torre dei Boboli which I had never seen before). For lunch, we stopped at a very good and popular bacaro, All’Arco, and nibbled on some tasty fish-based cicchetti.

On our way back to the train station, we stopped at Pasticceria Tonolo again to get some more frittelle to bring home — it was even more crowded than in the morning and it didn’t seem like there was any shortage of Carnevale confections. God bless the frittelle-making elves working non-stop in the back of the shop!

If you have the opportunity to go to Venice during Carnevale, make sure you stop at one of the pastry shops I visited and have at least one warm and soft frittella. If you can’t make it to Venice during this time of the year, check out my mom’s recipe and make your very own frittelle! They’re also quite delicious and can be enjoyed from the comfort of your home. (;

Frittelle - Italian Carnival Fritters | Very EATalian

Carnevale is all about excess — it’s time to dress up in costume, throw coriandoli (confetti) in the air, and indulge in sweets of all sorts! Talking about sweets, our Carnival family tradition is to make enough fried confections (frittelle, castagnole, and crostoli) to feed 5 families (i.e.: us + aunts, uncles, and cousins)…so I’ll let you imagine the hustle and bustle going on in the kitchen during this frying marathon and the endless spread of goodies we always end up with.

For those who aren’t familiar with these typical Carnevale sweet confections, frittelle and castagnole are conceptually similar – they both come in a round shape and they’re typically fried. While castagnole are smaller and firmer to the bite, frittelle are bigger, softer and sometimes filled with different variations of delicious pastry cream (my favorite is Zabaione custard!). Also, what we call crostoli are called galani in Venice — they’re thin flaky sheets of pastry drenched in powdered sugar.

Last year, while I was in Florida, I made castagnole under the close supervision of my mom on Skype. This time around I’m lucky to be in Italy again and partake in the crazy preparations of Carnevale sweets in her kitchen. We made all the sweets listed above…and we’re probably not even done yet, since the last day of Carnevale is next (fat) Tuesday!

Here are her frittelle! They’re soft and relatively easy to make. I dare you to have just one.

Frittelle - Italian Carnival fritters

Author: Very EATalian

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients

5.3 oz (150 g) raisins
3 medium eggs
5.3 oz (150 g) granulated sugar (+ more for final dusting)
1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
¼ cup (60 ml) grappa (or rum)
3.5 g (half packet) active dry yeast
2 big apples, grated
a generous pinch of salt
the zest of 1 big orange
17.6 oz (500 g) flour, sifted
peanut oil

Instructions

Soak raisins in water for about 20 minutes. Then, let them drain in a colander and lightly dust them with flour.
Lightly beat eggs inside a bowl. Add sugar and mix well.
Add milk and grappa (or rum). Add yeast and let it dissolve in the liquid mixture.
Add grated apples, orange zest, and salt. Gradually add sifted flour and mix well. Cover and let it rest for an hour.
Add lightly floured raisins to the mixture and stir to distribute them evenly in the batter.
Heat peanut oil in a medium steel pot. The temperature of the oil should be between 160°-170°C (320°-340° F). Using your finger, release a spoonful of batter into the oil (be careful not to burn yourself!). Repeat. Cook frittelle in small batches and do not overcrowd the pan.
Rotate frittelle often to ensure even cooking. When they have reached a brown/golden color and they're completely cooked through, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl lined with paper towels to absorb the oil in excess. Sprinkle granulated sugar on them while they're still hot.