Iginio Massari’s chiacchiere are one of the traditional carnival sweets. Often called by different names, like cenci, frappe, sfrappe, lattughe, etc., they are a must-have at the most colorful celebration of the year.
The secret is using Manitoba flour, which is very high in gluten, helping them to puff up a lot during cooking. The dough is very elastic and for this reason, you can roll it out very thinly.
You might be interested in these recipes:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 10 people
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Carnival
- Energy 323.63 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 50.82 (g) of which sugars 13.33 (g)
- Proteins 9.70 (g)
- Fat 7.87 (g) of which saturated 4.38 (g)of which unsaturated 2.89 (g)
- Fibers 1.34 (g)
- Sodium 156.90 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
INGREDIENTS FOR IGINIO MASSARI’S CHIACCHIERE
- 3 1/3 cups Manitoba flour
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter (or lard)
- 1/4 cup rum
- 3 eggs
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 orange zest (grated)
- as needed powdered sugar (for decoration)
Tools
- 1 Pasta Machine
PREPARATION FOR IGINIO MASSARI’S CHIACCHIERE
In a bowl, put the salt and eggs and lightly beat with a fork. Sift the flours, pour them into the bowl of the mixer, add the soft butter, sugar, beaten eggs, finely grated orange zest, and the liqueur.
Knead everything for about ten minutes, then move to the work surface and work the dough a little more: you should obtain a smooth and firm dough.
Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for at least an hour, better if 3-4 hours.
Then roll out the dough with the pasta machine until you reach level no. 5. Work the dough a couple of times for each thickness level.
From the sheet, cut out rectangles and make two small cuts in the center.
Pour plenty of oil into a wide and large pan and bring it to a temperature of 350°F.
Fry 2 or 3 chiacchiere at a time, a few seconds on each side. Drain and place them on a tray with paper towels, so that they lose the excess oil.
When they are cold, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
Adriana’s Tip
The resting of the dough makes it easier to roll out.
Once the sheet is rolled out thinly, it should be cooked immediately to develop the bubbles. DO NOT LET IT DRY OUT!!!!
The orange peel must be finely grated otherwise it gets stuck in the machine rollers
It is important to pierce the dough before frying (or your chiacchiere will become one giant bubble) and especially fry in multiple batches, to prevent the dough from drying out.
