Rustic Neapolitan Bomboloni with Fontina and Mortadella (fascingraf)
Here is one of my most requested signature dishes, an invaluable and unmissable recipe from the ancient Neapolitan aristocratic cuisine: Rustic Neapolitan Bomboloni with Fontina and Mortadella (or fascingraf).
These fascingraf (rustic bomboloni Neapolitan) are literally snatched up at my house, I barely have time to fry them before my family devours them like cherries, one after another, and they are so soft that they melt in your mouth!!
In conclusion, they are a kind of rustic krapfen!
I recommend saving this ancient and invaluable recipe from Neapolitan cuisine, with my rustic Neapolitan bomboloni with Fontina and Mortadella, you will make a great impression with your guests even on important occasions or festivities such as Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and Easter.
As I mentioned above, the recipe for these fascingraf is ancient and unmissable and is taken from the book: “La cucina aristocratica napoletana” by Franco Santasilia di Torpino.
“La Cucina aristocratica napoletana” originated with Queen Maria Carolina of Bourbon, who wanted to refine the delicious pauper’s cuisine of the Neapolitans with the touch of refined chefs from across the Alps. In the court and aristocratic families, the chefs – later called Monzù (mangling the French Monsieur) handed down these precious recipes that often took the name of the families themselves. The apotheosis of Monzù cuisine were timbales, pizzas, and leavened doughs in general”.
If you love Neapolitan cuisine I highly recommend taking a look at the special section of my Blog, entirely dedicated to Neapolitan recipes: “CUCINA NAPOLETANA DOC“
You might also be interested in:
- Grandma Anna's Fried Neapolitan Calzoncelli, very soft and stringy
- Sweet fritters with smoked provola. Ancient Neapolitan recipe
- Air fryer french fries crispy and light with very little oil. Proven recipe.
- Fried Toma with sugar and cinnamon. Very easy and quick dessert (only 3 ingredients).
- Baked donuts with cinnamon and divine glaze with maple syrup. Easy and quick recipe.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 15-20 bomboloni
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Carnival
Ingredients for Rustic Neapolitan Bomboloni (fascingraf)
- 2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour (I use Petra n.1)
- 10 1/2 oz Potatoes (yellow-fleshed)
- 7 tbsps Butter (softened)
- 3 Eggs (small)
- 1 oz Fresh yeast
- 2 tsps Milk (warm)
- 2 tsps Salt
- 1 qt Olive oil (or vegetable oil for frying)
- 5 oz Mortadella (coarsely chopped or diced)
- 9 oz Fontina cheese (diced)
Tools
- Stand Mixer Kenwood with 1400 W of power, illuminated bowl
- Deep Fryer Princess. 2000 W
Preparation of Rustic Neapolitan Bomboloni (fascingraf)
Wash the potatoes and place them whole and with the skin in a pot with cold water and a pinch of coarse salt, on high heat, covering them with the lid.
As soon as the water reaches a boil, remove the lid and cook the potatoes on medium heat for about 20-30 minutes (depending on the size and type).
Drain them and pass them hot through a ricer.
In the stand mixer’s bowl, pour the flour (about 2 1/2 cups) BUT the amount of flour depends on the quality of the potatoes and the flour itself (if the dough is very sticky, add another 1/2 to 1 cup) also add the potatoes passed through the ricer, the yeast (dissolved in a little warm but not boiling milk, otherwise the yeast won’t activate) and finally the 3 whole eggs, and work everything with a paddle attachment.
Work the dough well and for a long time with the paddle, and when it starts to come together (after about 20 minutes) also add the salt.
Soften the butter, without melting it, and add it to the dough, in small pieces, little by little.
At this point, replace the paddle with the hook and work the whole dough for another 10 minutes.
In the end, the dough should be soft and elastic and come off the sides of the bowl in one piece.
On a floured surface, form small balls about 1-1.5 inches, flatten them with your hands (as if making a small pizza) place a little bit of chopped or diced Fontina and Mortadella in the center, close them into an oval shape ensuring they are well sealed over the filling.
Arrange the bomboloni you have formed on a sheet of parchment paper and let them rise for about 2 hours.
Once the bomboloni have risen, cut each bombolone along with the parchment paper.
Take a pot about 4-5 inches deep, pour the olive oil up to two-thirds of the height, and as soon as the oil is hot (about 350°F), start frying by gently placing each bombolone into the oil, three to four at a time (no more), with its piece of parchment paper, taking care to continuously drizzle each one with spoonfuls of hot oil, which is essential for them to puff up well and evenly.
You will see that as the bomboloni puff up during frying, the parchment paper will come off on its own (this is the same method used for frying San Giuseppe zeppole).
Continue frying until golden brown, and drain the fascingraf on absorbent paper as you fry them.
Serve the rustic Neapolitan bomboloni hot, accompanied by a small rocket salad.
Notes and Tips
Clever tip, with the same dough, you can make the sweet version: I fried the bomboloni empty and then rolled them in sugar while hot, they turned out to be delicious krapfen, as soft as a cloud.
So, if you have guests or for a children’s party, with a single dough (perhaps using a double dose) you can prepare marvelous bomboloni, both savory and sweet!!
If you need to prepare and fry them a bit ahead of time, before serving them, place them in a tray and heat them for about ten minutes in the oven at 212-248°F.
They are equally delicious, even the next day warmed in a preheated oven at 392°F (or in the microwave).
If by chance there should be any left (BUT it won’t happen, you’ll see!) you can also freeze the cooked fascingraf in little bags and then, when you’re ready to eat them, just defrost them for a couple of minutes in the microwave or 15 minutes in the oven at 300°F.
10 golden rules for frying (including the Non-Fried Fry).
Shopping Tips!!!
To perfectly knead these bomboloni, I used my Kenwood Titanium Chef Patissier XL stand mixer with illuminated 7L bowl, integrated scale, and blender with 1400W of power, a faithful ally in the kitchen for: kneading, weighing, whipping, melting chocolate, pasteurizing eggs.
If instead, you’re looking for a more economical and smaller stand mixer model, you can safely choose to purchase the Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker, with double bowl 5L and 3.5L, 1200W of power.
You can find both stand mixers on Amazon, at a special price.
To perfectly fry these bomboloni, I used the Princess which fries food perfectly and evenly, the resistance on the bottom keeps the oil clean for more frying, it is equipped with a lid that prevents splashing and smoke and the extractable outer container makes cleaning easier.
Otherwise, this Tognana set is also very practical, consisting of a deep frying pan with basket plus a steamer
