Struffoli are the traditional Neapolitan Christmas dessert. Their origin is very old, it is in fact rumoured that the ancient Greeks brought them to Napoli when they colonised Southern Italy.
Very easy and quick to make, they are loved by both adult and children. When I was a child, no matter how much panettone or pandoro my mother would buy, to me it wasn’t really Christmas until she started to make the struffoli. Today, I need to lock them up, otherwise my child would be eating them all: they are indeed amazingly delicious! Serve them with a glass of icy Asti spumante, you will never have enough of them.
Ingredients for 10 portions:
- 1litre vegetable oil for frying
- Candied peels, sugar strands, silver sugar balls, hundreds & thousands to decorate.
- Put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Put all the other ingredients in the centre and mix everything. Knead until the dough is soft and does not stick to the hands anymore. Cover it with a clean towel and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
- Pour the oil in a deep frying pan and heat it up until very hot. Cut the dough in 4 sections. Roll each section, on a floured flat surface, to the size of your index finger. Cut the rolls in 1 cm pieces.
- Fry the balls in small batches, until a nice golden colour. Pick them up with a small sieve or a slotted spoon, making sure to drain all the oil, and place them on a plate covered with kitchen paper.
- In a large saucepan, heat all the honey with 50gr of sugar, until the sugar melts. Add the struffoli and stir well for a few minutes to coat evenly each ball.
- Put the struffoli still warm on a serving plate, and decorate them with candied peels and the sugar balls.
NOTE: Traditionally, the struffoli’s recipe uses Pernod, which is an anise-flavoured liqueur. If preferred, one can use Rum, Marsala or Brandy instead. For a burst of flavour, Limoncello makes very nice flavoured struffoli.
Read more of Silvana's step by step guides to Italian cooking .
