Nonna's Savory Calabrian Zeppole

The Christmas season is such a busy time of the year, but it is also a time for recreating wonderful traditions and adding on new ones. One tradition my husband and I have reinstated, after moving to Colorado from New York City four years ago, is making a savory, fried potato dough taste treats called Zeppole. They are Calabrian style, and not to be confused with the sweet doughnut type that is also served warm and covered with powdered sugar, which is more Roman or Neapolitan style, and often sold at Italian street festivals. My husband's mother and oldest sister made zeppole the afternoon of every Christmas Eve, and often on other occasions when a crowd of people would gather, such as family birthdays.

Making zeppole was truly a family affair, often with friends, siblings, and their spouses, children, and grandchildren all gathered in the kitchen to help. They would take pieces of dough and twist them to drop in the frying pans filled with hot oil, helping to turn them as they fried, and then greedily gobbling them up after they were cooked.  Some zeppoles were made with plain dough, but many that followed, and our favorites, were made by twisting the dough around a nice big anchovy.  The combination of the salty anchovy and fried potato dough was quite addictive!  We could eat many of them, while also enjoying a glass, or two, of red wine.

My husband immigrated to the United States as a child, with his parents and siblings from a small hilltop town in Southern Italy near the Ionian Sea, from the Provinces of Reggio Calabria. This is a postcard view of his town. Each region in Italy and even each town has its own variations for making many traditional Italian foods, all of them delicious, but some with quite different ingredients, according to what was available in each town.   The following is the recipe my mother-in-law used, and what my oldest sister-in-law always makes. They would make large quantities of zeppole, as they were always made for festive occasions and served to a lot of people, but my husband and I cut the recipe in half, which was a more reasonable portion for us to enjoy with our family here in Colorado.

Nonna's Savory Calabrian Zeppole

Ingredients:

2.5 pounds of potatoes

6 cubes of active wet yeast (found in the refrigerated section of the grocery, often near the eggs or dairy)

1.5 tablespoons of salt

2.5 pounds of flour 

1 pound semolina flour

Anchovies preserved in olive oil

Method:

Boil potatoes whole, with scrubbed cleaned skins, in water until fork tender. Drain, cool, peel, and use a potato ricer or food mill to mash onto a pile on a lighted floured board or clean countertop.  Make a well in the middle of the riced potatoes.

Mix the semolina flour and the white flour in a bowl. Add half the flour mix and the salt to the middle of the potato mixture.

Dissolve the active yeast cakes in one cup of warm water.  Add slowly to the potato and flour mixture a little at a time, while also adding the rest of the flour semolina mixture. Keep hands moist to help with mixing--we keep a bowl of warm water nearby to do this.  

When the potato/flour/semolina dough is all incorporated into a sticky elastic dough, knead on a lightly floured surface until it forms a smooth ball. Place the dough ball in an oiled pot, turn once to cover the dough with oil, cover the pan with a towel, and place in a warm place, without drafts, until it is doubled in size.

When the dough is doubled in size, heat oil in a skillet deep enough for the zeppole to float as it cooks. You can use olive oil if desired, but we use a canola oil/olive oil blend as it can heat at a higher temperature without smoking.  Heat the oil until it is almost boiling. You can drop a small piece of dough into the skillet to test if the oil is ready--the piece of dough will begin to sizzle and rise to the top of the oil.

With wet hands take a piece of dough and pull and roll it into a four-inch rope shape. Add the dry anchovy in the middle (if desired) and twist the dough around it.  Gently place in hot oil and fry, turning the dough as needed with forks or tongs, until it is golden in color and crisp.  

Place on paper towels to drain.  

Eat warm and enjoy! 

Uneaten zeppole can be refrigerated and warmed in a low oven to reserve.  

This Christmas season we also made time for a new tradition.  We had fun making a gingerbread house with our oldest granddaughter. She thoroughly enjoyed the process and was quite proud of the finished results!  I had to convince her that we would have to wait until Christmas to eat some of the house and that in the meantime it would be a nice decoration. 

Our tree is up--a Noble Fir from a tree farm in Oregon, and we've had some light snowfalls and chilly nights where we could enjoy a cozy fire. This is truly the most wonderful time of the year! Enjoy the season, and please tell me what your favorite tradition is this time of the year.

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