One more dessert, but this time it is Christmas and here I find myself in difficulty because my grandmother made them by “eye”. I asked her: “nonna how much flour” she replied “eh how much do you need”, “nonna how much sugar” “eh by eye”, she put the oil as if she were dressing the salad, the sugar as if she were salting the water for the pasta and the Strega liqueur as if she were wetting a sponge cake. Practically this recipe took it with her and I just had to make many attempts before obtaining a result that more or less came close to her own, because her struffoli were the best I’ve ever eaten , crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside and one led to the other.
After Christmas lunch, which lasted until late afternoon and in the evening it was not really the case for dinner, I took the tray with the struffoli, I sat on the sofa and with my fingers (because it is unthinkable to eat the struffoli with a teaspoon or a fork) I never finished tasting those little delights covered with sweet honey.
INGREDIENTS
300 grams of flour
2 eggs
60 grams of sugar
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of liqueur for flavoring (strega or sambuca)
Grated zest of 1 lemon
½ kg of wildflower honey
Colored confetti
Peanut oil for frying
Form the fountain with the flour on a pastry board, put all the ingredients in the center and slowly mix them. Knead until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough. Form a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, form small cylinders and cut them into small pieces. Heat the oil in a pan with high sides and when ready, fry the struffoli a few at a time. When you lift them from the oil, place them on absorbent paper. Continue to fry until all the struffoli are finished. Meanwhile, in another pan with high sides, smaller, melt the honey; when it starts to bubble, dip the struffoli in it and mix until all of them are covered with honey. Strain them and arrange them on serving plates forming a pile. Decorate them with confetti and wait for them to cool before starting to pinch them with your fingers.
