Neapolitan Savory Taralli, Lard and Pepper

The Neapolitan savory taralli, also known as lard and pepper taralli, are a Neapolitan salty specialty that will captivate you at the first taste.

The almonds add crunchiness to the preparation, and the lard and pepper give an intense flavor to your preparation.

The Neapolitan savory taralli also include the use of yeast, unlike the classic taralli version, which is made with a dough of flour, white wine and has a double cooking.

Neapolitan taralli
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Medium
  • Rest time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
  • Preparation time: 30 Minutes
  • Portions: 16/17 pieces
  • Cooking methods: Oven
  • Cuisine: Italian
  • Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients for Neapolitan Taralli:

  • 3 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/3 cup spelt flour (alternatively the same weight of flour)
  • 1 tsp active dry yeast
  • 3/4 cup natural water (at room temperature)
  • 5.3 oz lard (alternatively shortening)
  • 5.6 oz unpeeled almonds
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar
  • 1 1/3 tbsp fine salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Tools for Neapolitan Savory Taralli:

  • 2 Bowls
  • 1 Pastry board
  • 1 Mixer

Steps for preparing and cooking Neapolitan Taralli:

  • First, prepare the starter, in a glass, put 3/8 cup of water at room temperature, add the yeast and sugar, stir well to dissolve the ingredients, then in a bowl put 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour, add the water with the dissolved yeast little by little and start working the ingredients. When you obtain a homogeneous mixture, let it rise for 1 hour, covering the bowl with a cloth.

  • While the dough rises, toast the almonds well at 390°F for 10 minutes, then coarsely chop them (if you want, you can set aside a handful of almonds and use them to decorate the taralli).

    In a large bowl, put the lard or alternatively the shortening, and with a spoon, mix it well, then add the salt, pepper, and chopped almonds and stir well with a spoon, combine the starter, and start mixing by hand, then add the remaining flour and spelt (or the same amount of flour) and the remaining water, work the mixture, then transfer it to a pastry board and work it until smooth, let it rise for 30 minutes.

  • Flour the pastry board, divide the dough into 16 parts, and with a piece form a cord about 6-8 inches long, fold it in half and twist it, then join the ends to form a tarallo.

    Repeat the same procedure with all available pieces.

    Place the Neapolitan savory taralli on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving a little space between each.

    Let them rise for 1 hour. Bake at 320°F for about 50 minutes, they should be golden and well-cooked.

    Allow the taralli to cool and store them in an airtight container.

Tips:

In this recipe, we also added spelt flour; alternatively, you can use only all-purpose flour.

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crisemaxincucina

Cris and Max united in life with a great passion for cooking.

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