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Annie Smithers is the owner and chef of du Fermier in Trentham, Victoria. Her latest book is Recipe for a Kinder Life. She is a food editor of The Saturday Paper.
Credit: Photography by Earl Carter
Now the citrus season is in full swing, I am forever on the lookout for delicious ways to use the excess fruit. And while crostoli feature only a bit of zest, they are a worthy addition to my table.
Crostoli come in many forms and are known by many names. It all depends on which part of Italy, or Europe, you are in. The notion of frying pieces of scented dough seems to date back to the Roman festival of Saturnalia. This could be why a similar treat is found all over Europe. But the Italians have made an art form of it.
The dough itself is very much like a pasta dough. Sometimes it is sweetened but I like to leave mine sugar-free as I find crostoli sweet enough once smothered in icing sugar after frying. The recipe also calls for a white spirit. Grappa is perfect, as is a floral gin. Even a splash of white rum will suffice.
The dough needs to be quite firm but not so firm that it won’t go through a pasta machine. You also don’t want it too moist and sticky. I always use a pasta machine to make crostoli but of course they can be rolled by hand, if you have the patience and strength to roll them very thinly.
The strips can be cut with either a crinkled cutter or a plain one. As I don’t own a ravioli cutter, I just cut mine with a pizza wheel. When you place the pieces in the fryer, the cut through the middle of the strip helps it curl about itself, which makes a lovely shape. Don’t be tempted to put too many in the hot oil at the same time as they do expand and bubble ferociously. I cook mine in a very plain grapeseed oil but traditionally they were fried in lard. I think often about what sort of difference that would make, but have never had quite enough lard on hand to do a comparison fry-up.
These are delicious with espresso coffee but also as a crunchy note if serving a citrus dessert – maybe a cold lemon soufflé, a citrus semifreddo or even an orange crème caramel. As with many fried treats, they always seem to be at their very best on the day they are made.
This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on July 23, 2022 as "Crispy dreams".
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Annie Smithers is the owner and chef of du Fermier in Trentham, Victoria. Her latest book is Recipe for a Kinder Life. She is a food editor of The Saturday Paper.
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