RECIPE FOR CARNIVAL CHIACCHIERE
The CARNIVAL CHIACCHIERE are perhaps the most typical and appreciated dessert of this festive period: easy to prepare, super crunchy, and full of bubbles.
It can be said that almost every region of Italy has its own recipe as well as the name of this delicious dessert: some call them CHIACCHIERE, some FRAPPE, some BUGIE, some CROSTOLI, and I could go on for hours…
What matters regardless of the Carnival Chiacchiere recipe you decide to follow is to obtain thin sheets, beautifully crunchy and not greasy, that make a crunch with the first bite, and if they are also flavored, even better.
Today we will prepare together ORANGE CHIACCHIERE, a more aromatic and fragrant reinterpretation of the classic ones, as we will include not only the juice but also the grated zest of the orange (obviously from organic oranges) in the dough.
You will see how you will get delicate, thin, and crumbly FRAPPE, super delicious, that will delight both young and old, and everyone will ask you for the recipe. And then with the same dough and just changing the type of citrus, you can prepare LEMON or MANDARIN CHIACCHIERE! And if you prefer the classic traditional CHIACCHIERE dough, it will be enough not to add the orange juice.
For those who love light frying, at the end of the recipe, you will also find all the instructions to prepare the RECIPE FOR CHIACCHIERE IN THE AIR FRYER.
If you are looking for other desserts for CARNIVAL, also take a look at:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6 people
- Cooking methods: Frying, Air Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Carnival
- Energy 979.78 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 36.39 (g) of which sugars 8.68 (g)
- Proteins 7.61 (g)
- Fat 89.87 (g) of which saturated 15.03 (g)of which unsaturated 71.62 (g)
- Fibers 1.04 (g)
- Sodium 150.65 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 50 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
- 2 cups Manitoba flour
- 2 eggs (small, about 90 g total)
- 2 tbsps sugar
- 1 orange (untreated zest and 1 tsp juice)
- 2 tbsps butter
- 1 tbsps orange liqueur
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 2 cups seed oil (for frying)
- granulated sugar
- powdered sugar
- chocolate (melted)
Tools
- Bowl
- Rolling pin
- Frying pan
- Fluted pastry wheel
PROCEDURE
Before starting, here’s a tip. If you want to get Chiacchiere with a nice thin sheet, it would be better to use a Pasta Machine (commonly known as Nonna Papera), but if it’s not available, a classic wooden rolling pin will do just fine.
Pour into a bowl flour, eggs, sugar, softened butter, the zest of 1 orange + 5 ml juice (1 teaspoon), a pinch of salt and the Orange Liqueur, and mix with a spoon. Then transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 1 hour (do not skip this step if you want the chiacchiere to become nice and crunchy).
After the dough has rested, take it and start rolling it out with the Pasta Machine or by hand with the rolling pin into very thin sheets. Then cut them with a fluted pastry wheel or a pizza cutter into strips 1.5 to 2.5 cm wide (the length doesn’t matter, I like them short: they are also easier to fry).
Now all you have to do is fry the ORANGE-FLAVORED CARNIVAL CHIACCHIERE. Heat the oil and then immerse them for a few seconds; you will see them float up quickly and beautiful bubbles will form on the surface. Drain them and place on a plate lined with absorbent paper. Once cooled, sprinkle with granulated sugar, powdered sugar, or melted chocolate. Happy Carnival to everyone!
If you like fried foods and Chiacchiere in particular but want to prepare them in a lighter way, you can always opt for the air fryer. In this case, due to the different cooking method, the quantities and ingredients change slightly to suit Air Frying.
To prepare ORANGE CHIACCHIERE in the air fryer you will need: 2 cups all-purpose flour, 100 ml milk, 1 egg, 1 1/2 tbsps vegetable oil, 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast for Air Fryer, 1 tbsp sugar, the juice and zest of one ORANGE.
PROCEDURE: Place in a bowl: the egg, sugar, milk, oil, yeast, and the zest and juice of 1 ORANGE. Mix everything with a fork, then gradually add the flour while continuing to mix. As soon as the dough becomes consistent, move to a lightly floured work surface and start kneading by hand until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough. Roll out the dough and form the Chiacchiere as usual.
HOW TO COOK CHIACCHIERE IN THE AIR FRYER: With these quantities, you will need to cook the chiacchiere in two batches. Place parchment paper on the bottom of the air fryer basket, spray with oil spray, and cook at 195°C (383°F) for 5 minutes. Open the basket, turn them over, and spray a little more oil spray, cook for another 2 minutes at 195 degrees. Remove them from the basket, place them on a tray to cool, and cook the remaining dough in the same way. Decorate as desired when they have cooled.
For an even lighter version, you can bake the Chiacchiere in the oven. In this case, I recommend cutting the strips wider (about 3 cm) and making a cut in the center with a pastry wheel or knife to prevent them from deforming too much during baking.
Once the Chiacchiere are formed, place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake in a preheated fan oven at 200°C (392°F) for about 7-8 minutes. Check often to avoid burning them. They should become dry and golden but not too colored. Once ready, remove them from the oven and let them cool completely before placing them on a plate and dusting with powdered sugar.
