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These savoury Italian fried dough balls called Crispelle ire a classic appetizer that we offer with aperitif especially at Christmas and New year. Inside the fried dough there are small pieces of anchovy making it crunchy on the outside and soft inside finishing with a salty bite of anchovy or sundried tomato, perfect to serve with a sweet Spritz or Mimosa.
Savoury vs Sweet Italian fried dough
Most people are familiar with the sweet Italian fried dough called Zeppole or Struffoli, This recipe is a savoury fried dough served with aperitifs especially during Christmas or New Year.
It is a typical recipe from the South of Italy, called Crispelle in Calabria and Sfinci in Sicily. The dough is simply made with flour, water and yeast. It is very similar to pizza dough, just this dough is more fluid.
They are served warm to complement cocktails and the most common filling is a piece of anchovy or sundried tomato. Like salty olives, these Crispelle are perfect to accompany aperitifs as the saltiness of the anchovies contrasts well with the sweetness of the drink. However, since some people are not keen on anchovies, they are often filled with alternatives like sun-dried tomato, ricotta or another cheese.
If you really want to make a sweet fried dough you can leave them plain or fill them with ricotta. Just dust some icing sugar on top when you serve them. Although, do not call them zeppole as they are not the same thing. Zeppole have a different dough and are usually filled with custard.
Making the dough for the Crispelle
Making the dough is very simple:
- Dissolve the yeast in 1 cup of warm water and let it rest for 10 minutes until it forms a foam.
- Mix with an electric mixer the flour, the yeast in the water and salt.
- Continue to mix for at least 5 minutes whilst adding the rest of the water
- The stirring should be very energetic and the dough should sound as if it is being slapped.
- Once it is all combined and bubbling
- ..cover with a cloth and let it rest for 1 hour
Shaping the Crispelle
- Place the ricotta and the cleaned and deboned anchovies in two small ramekins next to the dough
- Take a spoon full of dough and place a piece of anchovy in the middle.
- With a second spoon twist the dough until the anchovy is trapped in the middle
- Drop the dough into the frying oil
Frying them
- Make several dough balls and drop them into the frying oil
- Turn them to cook evenly
- When golden, drain them and lay on a kitchen paper towel to absorb the excess oil
- Do the same with the ricotta by putting a teaspoon of ricotta in the middle of the dough
Serving the Italian fried dough
The Crispelle should be served immediately while they are still warm. Place them into serving bowls and sprinkle with some chopped parsley.
Serve it with a cold aperitif like Spritz (Aperol, tonic water and prosecco) or mimosa (prosecco and orange juice).
If you want to eat something sweet you can sprinkle the Crispelle with ricotta with icing sugar.
Tips for making the best Crispelle
- Use anchovies stored in salt, I never buy the ones stored in oil as I don’t know what oil is used. Plus the salty bite inside the dough is what makes these Crispelle the perfect match to a sweet aperitif.
- Mix the yeast with warm water and wait until some foam is formed before mixing it with the flour
- The dough should be mix energetically, you should hear the noise of the dough been slapped
- Once the dough is rested, it should have doubled in size
- The dough is very fluid therefore cannot be shaped with your hands. That is why you need to use 2 spoons.
- To better understand how to shape the dough, watch the video in the recipe below.
- As well as anchovies, you can fill them with sun-dried tomatoes, ricotta or other gooey cheese. Make sure the filling is completely wrapped inside the dough.
- Once you drop the crispelle into the frying oil, wait just 1 minute then turn them. If you wait too long a bubble of air will form on top and the Crispelle will turn back onto the previous side.
- Remove the Crispelle once golden and dry the excessive oil.
More fried appetizers
If you are looking for more fried appetizer ideas, here are some more recipes:
- Deep Fried Eggplant Balls
- Fried Zucchini Flowers with Saffron Batter
- Fried Calamari Recipe
- Italian Zucchini Frittata With
- Rissole Ć la Dauphine
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Italian Fried Dough Crispelle
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups fresh water
- 10 anchovies stored in salt stored in salt
- 3.5 oz ricotta
- 10 sun dried tomatoes
Instructions
Make the dough
- Dissolve the yeast in 1 cup of warm water and let it rest for 10 minutes until it forms a foam.
- Mix with an electric mix the flour, the yeast in the water and salt.
- Continue to mix for at least 5 minutes while adding the rest of the water.
- The stirring should be very energetic and the dough should sound as it is slapped.
- Once it is all combined and bubbling, cover with a cloth and let it rest for 1 hour
Shaping the Crispelle
- Place the ricotta and the cleaned and deboned anchovies in two small ramekins next to the dough
- Take a spoon full of dough and place a piece of anchovy in the middle.
- With a second spoon twist the dough until the anchovy is trapped in the middle
- Drop the dough into the frying oil
Frying them
- Make several dough balls and drop them into the frying oil
- Turn them to cook evenly
- When golden, drain them and lay on a kitchen paper towel to absorb the excess oil
- Do the same with the ricotta by putting a teaspoon of ricotta in the middle of the dough
Serving them
- The Crispelle should be served immediately while they are still warm. Place them into serving bowls and sprinkle with some chopped parsley.
- If you want to eat something sweet you can sprinkle the Crispelle with ricotta with icing sugar.
Video
Notes
- Use anchovies stored in salt, I never buy the one stored in oil as I don't know what oil is used. Plus the salty bite inside the dough is what makes these Crispelle the perfect match to a sweet aperitif.
- Mix the yeast with warm water and wait until some foam is formed before mixing it to the flour
- The dough should be mix energetically, you should hear the noise of the dough been slapped
- Once the dough rest it should have doubled the size
- The dough is very fluid therefore cannot be shaped with your hands. That is why you need to use 2 spoons.
- To better understand how to shape the dough, watch the video in the recipe below.
- Beside anchovies, you can fill them with sun-dried tomatoes, ricotta or other gooey cheese. Make sure the filling is completely wrapped inside the dough.
- Once you drop the crispelle into the frying oil, wait just 1 minute then turn them. If you wait too long a bubble of air will form on top and the Crispelle will turn back in the previous side.
- Remove the Crispelle once golden and dry the excessive oil.
these Italian crispelle look so appetizing and I love that they are savory.
Thank you, they are so nice
These are perfect for brunch! The tips are very helpful too!
Thank you, yes they are perfect for a brunch
I’ve never tried Crispelle before, but I’m very intrigued now. Looks delicious!
Yes, they are very nice
These little pieces of heaven sound amazing! I would eat every single one!
LOL, I know. They go in a flash
I’ve never tried these before, but I love all kind of deep-fried dough, so I’m sure these will be really good. I’m so excited to try the anchovy ones, since I actually like anchovies. š
They are very good, anchovies are my favourite