The Puglian Scarole are a traditional Christmas sweet in Puglia (and in some regions of Southern Italy): a light fry, to be served at Christmas, drizzled with honey.
Their similarities — such as fried dough and quick shape — are reminiscent of carnival sweets or rustic Christmas sweets, made with simple ingredients available to modest traditional families.
Despite the name, they have nothing to do with the vegetable “escarole/escarole”: here “Scarole” is a sweet name — probably dialectal or local — that in certain areas has been passed down as a Christmas tradition.
A “poor/traditional Christmas sweet”, fried and seasoned only with honey.
This recipe bears witness to the “poor but tasty” tradition: simple ingredients, easily available.
The Puglian Scarole are a sweet not widespread nationally — their existence is documented only in certain areas and by recent sources, suggesting that it is a little-exported local tradition.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 9 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 2 eggs
- 5 tbsp lard
- 6 tbsp sugar
- to taste milk
- to taste peanut oil
- to taste honey
Tools
- 1 Pastry Cutter
Steps
Mix flour, eggs, lard, and sugar; add a bit of milk to blend. The dough should be smooth.
Work the dough well to melt the lard and obtain a smooth paste.Roll out the dough very thin (a pasta machine can be used if available).
Cut rectangles or desired shapes with a pastry cutter. With a typical gesture, they are “squeezed” in the center to create the classic sweet shape.The sheet is rolled out thin.
Cut into strips of 4–6 inches with the serrated cutter.
Each strip is spiraled (rolled on itself) or pinched at the center to form a kind of bow or rose.
Fry in plenty of hot peanut oil until crispy golden.
Drain on absorbent paper and serve drizzled with warm, fluid honey.
Frying with Magic Cooker
You can also fry with the Magic Cooker lid, after heating the oil, immerse the Puglian scarole, turn off the heat, cover with the magic lid and let cook with steam frying for 10 minutes, turning the last 2 minutes.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Do the Puglian Scarole look like cartellate?
Yes, aesthetically the Puglian ‘scarole’ resemble cartellate, but in a simpler way.
Puglian Sweet Scarole
• Poor dough with flour, eggs, sugar, lard.
• Rolled thin and folded or ‘pinched’ in the center to form a sort of bow or propeller.
• Fried in oil and drizzled with honey.
• More rustic and ‘flat’ appearance, less elaborate.
Cartellate
• Similar dough but richer, often with white wine.
• More complex processing: the sheet is rolled into a wavy spiral to form ‘roses’ or ‘baskets’.
• Fried and seasoned with vincotto or honey, often also with cinnamon or sugar.
The scarole are simpler, smaller, and less scenic, but they recall the cartellate in technique (frying and honey), use of poor dough, and typical presence on Puglian Christmas tables.
They do not form complex ‘baskets’ like the cartellate, but resemble small spirals or roses.
The main difference is in the simpler final appearance and the fact that they are sometimes left flat or only slightly shaped.
