For years I've been perfecting my grandmother's Hanukka recipes, all of which of course require an incredibly large amount of oil. But this year I decided to try something a little different. I contacted my Italian colleague Rosela Yona, the head pastry chef at Biscotti. Yona began her career in Italy, where she completed her culinary studies, and then worked at Frontoni in Rome. Together, Yona and I chose a number of recipes for fried foods hailing from various regions of Italy. I apologize ahead of time that none of these dishes are dietetic, and some of them even include powdered sugar and syrup in addition to large quantities of oil. As is customary with professional pastry chefs, Yona's recipes are listed in grams, and so I've converted everything to cups for your convenience. Translated by Hannah Hochner. Bombolonases Bombolonases, the Italian version of sufganiot, are very popular in Tuscany, although they apparently originated from the Austrian Krapfen, just with the Italian addition of jelly inside. The three main differences between bombolonases and sufganiot are, one, that the former is usually filled with vanilla cream; two, sufganiot are filled with jelly, after they are fried; and three, bombolonases are rolled in regular sugar, not powdered sugar, after they're fried. Also, bombolonases are sold in bakeries year-round. Makes 20 pieces ■ 100 ml. (½ cup) milk at room temperature ■ 20 gr. fresh yeast ■ 400 gr. (3 cups) flour ■ 70 gr. (¹⁄3 cup) sugar ■ 50 gr. butter at room temperature, cut into small cubes ■ Zest of one orange ■ Seeds of 1 vanilla pod (or 1 tsp. vanilla extract) ■ 100 ml. (½ cup) water ■ 2 egg yolks ■ Oil for deep frying ■ A large bowl for rolling bombolonases in sugar after frying For cream: ■ 500 gr. (2½ cups) milk ■ 1 vanilla pod ■ 4 egg yolks ■ 100 gr. (½ cup) sugar ■ 40 gr. (¼ cup) corn flour ■ Zest of one lemon Dissolve the yeast in room-temperature milk. Into a bowl, pour flour, sugar, butter, orange zest and vanilla. Mix by hand and then form a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour in the milk and yeast. Add the egg yolks and mix well. Gradually add the water while kneading until dough is no longer sticky. Continue kneading for 10 more minutes. Transfer the dough to a bowl. Cover with plastic and put aside to let it rise until it's doubled in volume (an hour or two). While the dough is rising, prepare the cream. Boil the milk with the vanilla pod. In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks with the sugar and corn flour. Once the milk begins to boil, transfer a little of the milk to the bowl with the eggs and mix. Then pour the egg mixture into the pot. Lower the flame and continue stirring until the cream thickens. Add the lemon zest, stir and remove from the flame. Let reach room temperature. Fill an icing bag with the cream. Flour work surface and roll out the dough into 1-cm.-thick layer. On half of the dough, drop dollops of cream (about 2 tsp. each) spaced 4 cm. from each other. Then, gently fold over the other half of the dough and cover the cream. Using a cup or cookie cutter, cut out 7 cm.-diameter circles around each cream dollop. Press around edges to connect both layers of dough. Place on a greased baking sheet with ample space between pieces so they'll have space to rise. Cover with towel or plastic bag and let rise until they double in volume (one or two hours). Heat a pot with enough oil for deep frying. Fry each bombolonas for two minutes on each side. Remove and place on paper towel. Roll in sugar. I recommend reserving a little of the vanilla cream so that you can decorate top of bombolonases before serving. Frittelle di mele Frittelle are the Italian version of latkes. Some say they originated in ancient Rome, where they were served as a side dish with a meat meal. But once sugar made its appearance on the continent, frittelle soon became a popular dessert. Makes 15 pieces ■ 2 to 3 apples ■ Juice from 1 lemon ■ 140 gr. (1 cup) flour ■ 2 eggs ■ Pinch of salt ■ 80 gr. (¹⁄3 cup) sugar ■ 200 gr. (1 cup) milk ■ 5 gr. (½ package) baking powder ■ Oil for frying Serving suggestion: Powdered sugar or sour cream Peel and core the apples. Cut into 1-cm.-thick slices. Put slices in a bowl and pour lemon juice on top of them. Let sit for 1 hour. n a separate bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients until smooth. Let sit for 30 minutes. Drain apple slices from lemon and add them to the mixture. Heat the pot with oil. Fry the apple pieces covered with the mixture until golden brown. Remove and place on paper towels. Serve with powdered sugar and sour cream. Castello di ricotta These ricotta-filled pastries are popular in Sicily. Sicilian cuisine is often called the kitchen of the poor since it does not use many high-fat creams and cheeses, although it is rich in spices. Castello di ricotta is a traditional Italian fried pastry based on the best ingredients that can be found in Sicily: ricotta, Marsala wine (which is known for its high alcohol content) and citrus fruit. Makes 15 pieces For dough: ■ 450 gr. (3 cups + 2 Tbsp.) flour ■ 50 gr. (¼ cup) olive oil, heated slightly in microwave for 30 seconds ■ 50 gr. (¼ cup) sugar ■ 120 gr. (½ cup) sweet white / Marsala wine For cream: ■ 1 kg. ricotta cheese, drained ■ 300 gr. (1½ cups) sugar ■ 150 gr. (1 cup) chocolate chips ■ 5 gr. (1 Tbsp.) vanilla extract ■ Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon ■ 2-3 cups canola or sunflower oil for frying ■ Powdered sugar For dough: Place the ricotta on a strainer over a bowl and let it drain for an hour. In the bowl of a mixer with a dough hook, place the flour. Add the heated oil and mix until completely mixed. Add the sugar and wine. If the dough is still too hard, you can add another one or two tablespoons of wine. Knead for five minutes on medium speed until smooth but not too soft. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. For cream: Place the drained ricotta in a bowl with the other ingredients and mix well. Lightly flour work surface and roll out cooled dough into a 1-mm.-thick layer (you can use a pasta maker, if desired). Using a cup, cut out circles. On each circle, place a spoonful of cream and then fold over to form a half moon. Secure edges. You can use a fork to make marks or designs on the dough. Heat oil in a pot for deep frying. Place the castello di ricotta in the oil for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove and place on paper towels. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Frittelle di riso Frittelle di riso, or rice balls, are popular in northern Italy and are served at parties and on holidays. ■ 1 liter (1 bag) milk ■ 200 gr. (2 cups) short-grain rice ■ 100 gr. (½ cup) sugar ■ 10 gr. (2 Tbsp.) vanilla extract ■ 5 gr. (½ package) baking powder ■ 2 eggs ■ 70 gr. (½ cup) flour ■ Zest of 1 lemon ■ Oil for frying ■ Sugar Into a pot, pour milk, rice, sugar and vanilla. Mix and bring to a boil. Lower the flame and continue cooking until the rice has absorbed all the milk – about 10 minutes. (Be careful not to let the rice get too dry – it should come out similar to consistency of risotto.) Let cool for 1 hour. Once the rice has cooled down, add the baking powder, eggs and flour. Mix well. Take 2 Tbsp. of rice and form balls. Add them to the boiling oil and fry them until golden brown. Remove the frittelle di riso and place them on paper towels. Sprinkle with sugar and orange and lemon zest, if desired.
(photo credit: BOAZ LAVI)