Chifelini - Dumplings with Jam

This is a traditional Italian recipe from Trentino Alto Adige in particular of Trieste. Chifelini are a sort of dumplings filled with jam (strawberry or plum jam) prepared in Trentino Alto Adige for Carnival. The dough is characterized by the presence of potatoes and they can be fried of baked in the oven as I did here.

INGREDIENTS:

200 g of Potatoes

400 g of Flour

180 g of Butter

100 g of Sugar

25 g of brewer’s yeast

Milk

2 Eggs

1 Lemon

Strawberry jam or Plum jam

Icing sugar

PREPARATION TIME: 2 hours

COOKING TIME: 15 minutes

WINE: Moscato Rosa del Trentino

PREPARATION

Boil the potatoes, peel and mash them. Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in a little bit of milk (just the amount to dissolve the brewer’s yeast). Place on a table the flour, the mashed potatoes, the eggs, the sugar, the butter, the grated peel of a lemon and the brewer’s yeast dissolved in the milk. 

Mix all together until you obtain soft and homogeneous dough. 

Let the dough stand for about one hour. Preheat the oven at 180 degree. Afterwards roll out the dough in a thin pastry, 

cut the pastry in square of 5 cm side, place in the middle of each square pastry a teaspoon of jam and close the pastry in order to obtain a dumpling with the shape of a half-moon. 

Place a sheet of baking paper on the surface of a baking pan and put on it chifelini. 

Bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with icing sugar.

BUON APPETITO!

Cake of Carnival - Migliaccio

The name of this Italian dessert is "Migliaccio". Migliaccio is a traditional cake of Naples that is usually prepared in occasion of Carnival. Its preparation is very easy and it doesn't need a lot of time. The preparation of this Italian cake remind me a little bit the preparation of Pastiera, another Italian dessert traditional of Naples, but in this case it is more easy and you need less ingredients. The main ingredients for Migliaccio are semolina and ricotta cheese, you can use ricotta cheese from cow or from sheep according to your taste. Thanks to the presence of simple Italian ingredients, children that love Carnival appreciate this Italian cake too.

INGREDIENTS:

250g of semolina

1L of milk

Peel of orange

30g of butter

350 g of Ricotta Cheese

6 eggs

200g of Sugar

10g of Vanilia

Icing sugar

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes plus the time necessary to let the mixture cool down

COOKING TIME: 1 hour

WINE: Malvasia

PREPARATION

Pour in a soup pot the milk; start to stir with a wooden spoon while adding the semolina. If you want you can use a whisk in order to avoid lumps. Add the peel of an orange and let the milk warm up.

Continue to stir, when the mixture start to become firm remove the peel of orange and continue to cook the semolina until it will have a thick and homogeneous consistency. 

 

Add a piece of butter, mix and let the semolina get cold.

In a large bowl mix the ricotta cheese with the eggs. 

Stir until the ingredients are well combined, then add the sugar and mix. 

When the semolina get cold add it to the bowl and mix.

Butter the bottom of a baking pan and pour the mixture. Bake the cake in pre-warmed oven and cook at 180 degree for 1 hour more or less. 

Check the cooking time by time, the cake will be ready when the surface becomes golden.

BUON APPETITO!

Fritters with Apples

This is another traditional Italian recipe that is typical prepared in occasion of Carnival: it is easy to realize and as main ingredients you need only flour, sugar, eggs and the type of apples called Renetta or Stark that are sweet and floury. This fritters are delicious and prepared in all region of Italy in particular in Venezia where there are two different recipes of fritters of apple: one is this presented below, another one is that in which apples is cut as washers, covered with a liquid batter and fry. They are both delicious!

INGREDIENTS (for 4 – 6 people):
400 g of Flour
5 Tablespoons of Sugar
Spout
1 Grated lemon peel
16 g of Yeast for sweet
2 Eggs
300 ml of Water
5 Apples
Icing sugar
Extra virgin olive oil for fry

PREPARATION TIME: 1hour and 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 20 minutes

WINE: Malvasia

PREPARATION
Mix in a bowl the flour, the sugar, the grated lemon peel, some spout and the yeast



then add the eggs and the water



and knead with a tablespoon in order to obtain a batter not much liquid now let the batter stand for 1 hour.



After this time clean, peel and cut in cubes the apples, add them to the batter and mix.



Preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan, place in it with a tablespoon some batter and fry it.



When the fritters become golden remove them from the oil



and place them over a sheet of kitchen paper to remove the excess of oil. Sprinkle the fritters with some icing sugar and serve them.
This is the result:



BUON APPETITO!