Struffoli,

Struffoli

Our Mother of Good Counsel Church

Struffoli (STROO- foh-lee)appeared on the dining room sideboard during Christmas week after the visit of our Aunt Margaret. Christmas week was the time for visits from members of the extended family who were not at the table for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Aunt Margaret was not really an aunt. She was a spinster lady who lived with her sister and mother. Her mother was my grandmother’s maid of honor on my grandmother’s wedding day, January 1, 1900 at Our Mother of Good Counsel Church at 8th and Christian in South Philadelphia. To the Italian American parishioners the church was called “Buon Consiglio.” The church, my grandmother and my Aunt Margaret are now all long gone. The stroffoli continue.

Torre Annunziata

from The Red List http://theredlist.fr

My grandmother and her maid of honor were from Torre Annunziata, the town known for its artisanal pasta. Torre Annunziata is home to Setaro pasta, the best I have ever used.

Setaro

Monsurro"

Setaro pasta is available online at http://www.supermarketitaly.com/setaro-pasta/ or in Manhattan at Buon Italia. But there is another pasta company in Torre Annunziata, unknown in America, “Monsurró”. “Monsurró” is the pasta company of my great-grandmother’s family.

No one made stroffoli at our house.Even though my Irish descent mother adopted and adapted many other Italian cookies and recipes, struffoli was not one of them; perhaps because there was no need. Aunt Margaret’s mother provided our Christmas supply. Along with the struffoli she also brought a tray of fried ribbons glazed with honey. While I have found a similar recipe called “galani,” a ribbon strip fried and finished with powdered sugar, I have not found the kind finished with honey. Aunt Margaret’s struffoli were mounded and covered in colored sprinkles. The struffoli on this page are my sister’s and are presented in a wreath shape.

The most important part of shaping the dough is that they are to be small, no bigger than a hazel nut. In fact, for some families there seems to be a tradition to mix hazel nuts with the struffoli.

Historically, the struffoli must be one of the oldest sweets known. Their simple composition of fried dough and honey suggest that predate the arrival of sugar in Europe. Some food and language historians trace the word “struffoli” to the Greeks when they first colonized Southern Italy sometime around the 7th century BC. The first mention of a struffoli recipe occurs in an Italian cookbook of the 17th century. See http://www.struffoli.it/storia.htm

The best part of struffoli is that they are the perfect finger food. As you pick up a little cluster of the gooey balls, you swirl your fingers in the dense honey. Stroffoli, honey and finger tips all in the mouth at once.

Other Italian Christmas Cookies

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Getting started

Equipment
Pan for deep frying
Food Processor
Rolling pin
Grater

Ingredients

Flour, 2 cups
Baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon
Salt, pinch
Butter, 3 tablespoons
Eggs, 3
Lemon, grated skin
Orange, grated skin
Amaretto, 3 tablespoons (optional)
(or)
White wine
Other flavor options:
Cinnamon, nutmeg

Oil for frying.
Honey, sugar and lemon juice for coating.
Colored sprinkles for decoration.
Hazel nuts (optional)

Dry ingredients and butter

Pout flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and grated rinds into the food processor. Pulse a few times to mix the dry ingredients.
Dice the butter and add to the dry ingredients.
Pulse until butter breaks into the flour.

Eggs and flavoring

Wisk together the eggs and whichever flavoring you choose.

Add wet to dry

With the food processor running slowly pour in the eggs and flavoring.
In a minute or so, a ball wall form,

Chill the dough

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for about an hour.

Forming the struffoli

Take a small pinch of dough and roll it into a ball.
You can also roll out a pencil thin log and slice done small pieces.
Remember the struffoli will expand as they fry.

Frying

Heat oil to around 350 - 375.
Fry a handful at a time,. Do not crowd the pan.
Expect the first batch to be darker than the rest.
Set on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Honey and sugar

In a heavy saucepan, heat about 1 cup of honey with 1/2 cup of sugar.
Add the juice of 1/2 lemon.
Stir until blended and heated through.

Coat the struffoli

Add the struffoli. Turn them in the honey mix to coat completely.
Let them cool just a bit.
As the honey begins to set, spoon the struffoli out either in a mound or in a wreath shape.