History and recipe of the Venetian fritters
Venetian fritters, called Fritole, are not only a simple Carnival dessert but they also have in Venice a special fame. It is not a chance if they have been elected in 1700 the national dessert of the Republic of Venice.
No creams, chocolate or zabaglione, Venetian fritters have the delicious taste of the poor ingredients of the traditional recipe: raisin, pine nut and grappa, that enrich a soft and sweet dough, sometimes with semolina.
Venetian fritters: their history
Venetian fritters are born in ancient times, from the Renaissance they were fried and sold in the street, kiosks or specific ships docked along the channels of the city and ate along the street by the pedestrians. Who makes fritters were called “fritoleri”, recognized professionals that in XVII century founded an Association to recognize and define their activity. Each “fritolero” had its selling area and the entire city was divided in zones where the members could work exclusively. Moreover the succession supported the sons in order to pass the job from father to son. “Fritoleri” continued their work for years, up to ‘800 and beyond the end of the association, closed because of the fall of the Republic.
Venetian fritters: art, painting and theatre
In 1756 the famous Venetian writer Carlo Goldoni wrote a comedy, set during Carnival period called “Il Campiello”, where the main character was a “fritolera”. In addition, in the same years (1700 – 1778) the illustrator Gaetano Zompini, fixed in one of its print a “Venditore di frittelle” (Seller of fritters), while he is frying fritters in a huge steaming cooking pot. Then he pierces them in skewers and sells them to the rich Venetian aristocrats. It is possible to see the same scene in a famous canvas of Petro Longhi: it is called “Venditrice di fritole” (Seller of fritters) as we told in this article dedicated to the typical Venetian desserts.
Venetian fritters: the recipe
The dough is made of natural ingredients like flour, semolina, eggs, sugar, milk and yeast, enriched with pine nuts, raisin and a drop of grappa. The dough was knead on wood shelves and cut with the help of a knife to pour it directly in hot oil. Once golden, they were rolled in sugar and served to the pedestrians in paper cones or wood skewers.
Venetian fritters recipe
300 gr of flour
200 ml of milk at room temperature
2 eggs
80 gr of raisin
80 gr of pine nuts
Grated lemon zest
50 gr of sugar
40 gr of soft butter
15 gr of brewer’s yeast
A small glass of grappa
Sugar to decorate
Seed oil to fry
Preparation
Melt the yeast in half warm milk, place in a bowl the flour, sugar, egg, butter and blend. Add the melted yeast and the other half of milk. Mix the lemon zest and the pine nuts, and raisin softened in grappa. Knead until you obtain a soft and shiny dough. Make it leaven for two or three hours. Heat the seed oil in a pot and divide the dough directly in the hot oil with the help of two spoons. When the fritters are golden, remove them from the oil and drain on the paper towel, then roll them on sugar. Eat them warm!
