Captured by The Recipe Hunters in Calabria, Italy
Throughout my life, each and every Christmas, we would have Zeppole. After my nonna died, my father would search to find people who made Zeppole the calabrese way but he always had a complaint about them just not being the same. I always remember Zeppole, Calabrese style because I woke up one morning, saw that my dad had found zeppole, and popped one in the toaster. I immediately sprinkled powdered sugar on top to enjoy it for breakfast and after taking a bite, I was at the verge of vomiting because this Zeppole contained anchovies...yuck! I was so disgusted about the powdered sugar and anchovies combo, yet happy because my dad found someone who made them Calabrese style. I finally believed that they existed! Well now, we are standing in my second cousins kitchen and the first ingredient she emphasizes is the fresh anchovies...dig in!
Zeppole (plural of Zeppola) or zippuli in Calabrian dialect is an Italian word that translates to fried dough or doughnuts. They can be savory or sweet and are made throughout Italy, more traditionally in Southern Italy and Rome. Each town has their own special variation of Zeppole that families or pastry shops will make during St. Joseph’s Day, Christmas, New Years, and other town celebrations. There is the sfinge di San Giuseppe (Sicilian version for St. Joseph’s day filled with custard or ricotta cream), Bignè di San Giuseppe (the Roman version of Zeppole), Scauratielle (San Giovanni a Piro Christmas version) and there is the Zippoli Calabresi (a savory version made with Anchovies). Zeppole making is usually a team effort in which families gather in the kitchen helping each other with the dough making, frying, and ensuring to enjoy the freshly made Zeppole! While in Calabria we made Zepolle two seperate times with two different wonderful cooks; Manu and Angela!
Cool Fact: Manu and her sister, Dita, showed us pictures of their mother and grandmother making the zeppole in the same green bowl that we made them in!
Serves 6-8
Note: You will need 3-4 cups of lukewarm water at hand.
Boil 3 potatoes in a large pot of salted water. Once you can easily stick a fork through them, drain the water and peel the potatoes.
Pour the flour into a large deep mixing bowl.
Strain the potatoes through a food processor onto the flour in the bowl.
In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the fresh yeast in lukewarm water (1 cup) by gently swirling the yeast with your hand.
In another small mixing bowl, dissolve the salt in lukewarm water (1 cup).
Pour both small mixing bowls into the flour and potatoes, and mix with your hands.
Add the lukewarm water to your kneading until the consistency of the dough is slimy and wet and hom*ogenous throughout (see photos below for consistency).
Once you are done mixing the dough, scrape all of the excess dough on the sides of the bowl down, wet your hand and flatten out the surface of the dough with your hand.
Pour a small amount of olive oil into the crook between the dough and the bowl, cover with a dishcloth or blanket, and allow to rise (1 hr).
Line a baking tray with paper towels or newspaper (you will be lying the fried zeppole on the paper towels to absorb any excess oil).
Once the dough has doubled in size, set up your workspace by bringing the bowl of dough and the baking tray with paper towels to a stovetop next to your frying area.
Fill the frying pan with 3 cm ( ~1 inch) of vegetable oil or olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Once the oil has heated (test the heat by throwing a pinch of the dough into the oil. If the dough fizzles and pops, you are ready to add the zeppole dough. If not wait until the same piece of dough rises to the surface of the oil and fizzles and pops).
Made with Love Tip: If olive oil gets too hot, it begins to emit a harsh vapor that makes it hard to breath. So if your olive oil over-heats and starts to smoke, turn it down and wait for it to cool before brining the olive oil to a frying temperature.
Form the Zeppole, (see photos) by covering your hands in oiland grabbing a golf ball size amount of dough. Now elongate the dough by pulling it apart with both hands, and as you stretch the dough twist it at the same time. Quickly drop the long twisted dough into the frying oil and start on the next one. Repeat until the entire pan is full of zeppole.
Made with Love Tip: If you would like to add an extra kick to your zeppole, stuff them by adding an anchovy or a cube of cheese inside the gooey dough. You can make these stuffed zeppole in a ball so that it is easy to tell which ones are stuffed and which ones are not! A few tries and you'll get the hang of it!
Once the zeppole is golden brown on it's bottom, flip it over using a fork and let the next side get gorgeous!
Once both sides are golden brown, remove the zeppole from the oil and place them on the paper towels next to you!
Sprinkle your zeppole with powdered sugar (unless they are stuffed with cheese or anchovies) and enjoy your Calabrese Zeppole, Made with Love!
