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Cicerchiata
Honey fried dough ring
Cicerchiata: Abruzzo and Umbria's honey-bound ring of tiny fried dough balls
Cicerchiata takes its name from the cicerchia, a small dried legume, because its tiny balls of fried dough look just like them. In Abruzzo, Umbria and the Marche it is the Carnival sweet: the fried balls are stirred into hot honey with almonds and candied peel, then shaped into a ring or mound and decorated with sprinkles. It is broken apart with fingers at the end of Carnival meals. Not for babies under 1 because of the honey. Chef's tip: work quickly once the balls are in the honey and wet your hands with cold water to shape the ring; the honey sets fast as it cools.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz plain flour
- 3 eggs
- ⅔ oz caster sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemonzest only
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 ¼ cups sunflower or peanut oilfor frying
- 9 oz runny honey
- 2 ⅛ oz toasted almondsroughly chopped
- 1 ⅜ oz candied orange peeldiced
- 1 tbsp coloured sprinkles
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Knead 10 ½ oz plain flour, 3 eggs, ⅔ oz caster sugar, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 pinch salt and the zest of 1 lemon into a smooth dough. Wrap and rest for 30 minutes.
30 minStep 2: Roll the dough into ropes 1 cm thick and cut into small pieces the size of a chickpea.
Step 3: Heat 3 ¼ cups sunflower or peanut oil to 350°F and fry the pieces in batches for 2 minutes, until golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
15 minStep 4: Warm 9 oz runny honey in a wide pan over a low heat for 3–4 minutes, until it bubbles and turns slightly darker. Common mistake: boiling it too long; it turns bitter and sets hard as glass.
4 minStep 5: Take off the heat and stir in the fried balls, 2 ⅛ oz toasted almonds and half of 1 ⅜ oz candied orange peel until coated.
Step 6: With wet hands, shape into a ring on a plate. Decorate with the rest of the peel and 1 tbsp coloured sprinkles. Leave for 1 hour to set before breaking into pieces.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 50 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does cicerchiata take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 45 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of eggs?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
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