Preparation

• To prepare gluten-free chiacchiere, start by cutting the butter into pieces and softening it well, so that it takes on a consistency similar to an ointment (1). You can do this by keeping it at room temperature for about 30 minutes or in the turned-off oven with the light on for about ten minutes. If you have a microwave, you can soften it by cooking it for 20 seconds at 700 W. Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, a pinch of salt, and lemon zest) and place them on the work surface forming a well (2). Crack the eggs into the center and break them with a fork (3).

  

• Begin to incorporate the flour into the eggs, little by little with the fork, just as you would for egg pasta. When the mixture starts to thicken, add the liquor and water little by little (4) and continue to incorporate the flour with the fork. Once these liquids are also mixed in, add the softened butter in pieces (5) and start kneading the gluten-free chiacchiere dough by hand (6).

  

• Knead the dough for a minute or two, until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous mixture (7). Form a ball, wrap it with a sheet of food wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Once the resting time has passed, divide the ball in two. Rewrap half of it in the plastic wrap and put it back in the fridge until you finish working with the first half.

  If you use the pasta machine, roll out the dough with the rolling pin, forming a long and narrow rectangle (8a). Flour it well and pass it between the rollers at the maximum thickness (9a).

  

• Fold it in two (10a), dust it lightly with flour, and pass it again between the rollers at maximum thickness, fold it, and repeat the operation a couple more times until you obtain a smooth dough that doesn’t stick (11a). Then gradually decrease the thickness, this time without folding the dough, until you achieve a thickness of about 1 mm (12a). The thinner you roll it, the crispier and more bubbly your gluten-free frappe will be.

  

• If you use a rolling pin, after resting the dough, roll it out on a floured surface (8b). Try to form a very thin sheet as evenly as possible (9b). Also in this case, if you manage to roll out a sheet about 1 mm thick, you will achieve excellent results.

  

• Once the dough is rolled out – with the pasta machine or with the rolling pin – use a fluted pastry wheel to cut rectangles about 12×6 cm (13). Make two incisions inside them (14) and gently detach them from the work surface. Proceed in the same way with the other half of the dough.

  

• Heat a generous amount of peanut oil in a pan, bringing it to 356°F. If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer, you can check the temperature by dipping a small piece of dough, which should immediately rise to the surface forming lots of bubbles. Fry the gluten-free frappe a few at a time (15), turning them once they are golden. Cooking times depend greatly on the thickness of the chiacchiere, but if you have rolled them nice and thin, 10-20 seconds per side will suffice. Drain them well and let them dry on a sheet of kitchen paper (16).

• Once dry, sprinkle the gluten-free chiacchiere with plenty of powdered sugar before serving.

• For a good outcome of gluten-free chiacchiere, remember to:

  – use soft but not melted butter: it should have a consistency similar to an ointment;

  – flour the work surface well when rolling out the dough;

  – roll out the dough as thinly as possible; if you use the machine, the result will certainly be better, but even with the rolling pin, gluten-free frappe turn out well; those you see below are rolled out with the rolling pin, while those at the beginning of the recipe are rolled out with the machine;

  – fry a few pieces at a time, ensuring that the oil is hot enough.

  

• You can prepare gluten-free chiacchiere with a different gluten-free pasta mix than the one I used. However, while the amounts of eggs, sugar, butter, and baking soda remain unchanged, it may be necessary to add more flour or water depending on the mix used. Instead of grappa, you can use your preferred liquor (rum, limoncello, anise liqueur, the latter two with the “gluten-free” label) or white wine. If you don’t want to use alcohol, replace the 20 g of liquor with another 20 g of water, for a total of 40 g of water.

• For me, Carnival chiacchiere are strictly fried. However, I tried baking these gluten-free chiacchiere, placing them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, brushing them with a little oil, and baking them at 356°F for 7-8 minutes, removing them from the oven when they were golden. Clearly, the oven-baked frappe are less bubbly and drier, but they are still crispy, and the flavor is excellent. If you are on a diet, they can be a good alternative to fried ones.