Makes about 50 Crostoli
INGREDIENTS
3 cups plain flour
4 tablespoons caster sugar (add a bit more if you like them sweeter)
Pinch salt
2 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons grappa (or brandy or marsala)
Finely grated zest of a large lemon (or an orange if you prefer)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 cup water (more if needed)
Vegetable oil
Powdered sugar
DIRECTIONS
Combine all the ingredients except the oil and powdered sugar in a bowl and mix to create a dough by hand or in a food processor. Mix until the dough forms into a ball.
Place on a floured surface and knead for a few minutes until the dough is smooth. You can add water or flour to get the right consistency. Wrap in plastic and allow to rest for thirty minutes.
Cut off about a third of the pastry ball and leave the rest of the dough in the plastic wrap. Roll it flat with a rolling pin into a rectangular shape. You can roll it through a pasta machine to make the dough as thin as possible. Cut the dough with a fluted pastry cutter so you have several long strips and then cut again into four to five inch pieces.
Add three to four inches of oil into a heavy bottomed saucepan. Heat the oil. Once the oil is hot, drop three or four crostoli in to fry at a time. It will only take about 30 seconds to cook on each side so work quickly and turn them as soon as the edges start to color. They are cooked when the color is sandy. If they are brown they are overcooked.
Remove the cooked crostoli with tongs and drain them on a paper towel. If they take longer than 30 seconds on each side to cook, your oil is not hot enough and they will absorb too much oil. The secret of light crostoli is in the short time they take to cook.
The final step is to sprinkle the crostoli with powdered sugar before serving and ENJOY!
Jacopo Bassano
