Cooking with my Dad reminds me a bit of my first driving lesson with him. I wanted to take the lead, get stuck in, zoom down the road with abandon whereas he wanted to take his time telling me the road code, describing in detail that my hands need to be at 10 to 2, like a clock (and not one arm hanging out the window!) Is that really really a driving rule? or just my Dad’s?
Making Crostoli, sweet crispy Pastry angel wings was no different. It was step by step, thoughtful and required patience (from me!). I tried my best to throw flour around, twist the pastry MY way, but Dad kept steering me back, to the old ways. Vanessa and I grew up with this recipe, and now that I have been taught by the ‘The Don’, I intend to continue the tradition with my children. Hopefully you will too. Ingrid
STEP 1. Melt butter in a small pot. Add sugar, salt, some spoonfuls of milk and combine.
STEP 2. Place flour in a pile on a clean work bench. Make a well in the centre and break an egg, add egg yolk, rum and lemon gratings.
STEP 3. With clean Fingers Carefully Roll the flour towards the centre and start kneading to form a dough. If the dough is too dry, add some more milk. Too wet, add a little more flour.
STEP 4. Roll out the pastry to the thickness of a knife (1.5mm thick). Slice into strips about 6cm wide and 10cm long.
STEP 5. Make a vertical incision down the middle of the strips. Take one end of the ribbon and place it inside of it’s vertical cut, carefully pulling it through to form a kind of bow.
STEP 6. Heat enough oil for deep frying on a high heat. Fry in batches until the pastry bows Turn Golden Brown. Drain on a kitchen towel.
STEP 7. Pile high on serving dish and dust liberally with icing sugar.
- 50 grams butter
- ¼ cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 4 tablespoons milk
- 2 cups flour
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk extra
- 2 tablespoons rum or grappa
- Grated rind of 1 lemon
- Icing sugar
- Oil for frying
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the sugar, salt and milk and stir to combine.
- Place the flour in a pile on a clean work bench. Make a well in the centre and break in the egg, extra egg yolk, the rum and lemon rind.
- With clean fingers carefully roll the flour towards the centre to mix the egg. It should start to look like rough breadcrumbs. Gradually pour over the melted butter mixture and start kneading to form a dough. If the dough is too dry, add some more milk. Too wet, add a little more flour. Knead until the dough comes together to form a smooth ball.
- Roll out the pastry to the thickness of a knife (1.5mm thick). Slice into strips about 3cm to 9cm.
- Make a vertical incision down the middle of the strips. Take one end of the strip, place it inside the vertical cut, carefully pulling it through to form a kind of bow. To get the angel wing look, press out the pastry ends to accentuate the bow. Repeat for all strips.
- In a large pot, heat enough oil for deep frying on a high heat. Fry in batches until the pastry bows turn golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon. Drain on kitchen towel.
- Pile high on a serving dish and dust liberally with icing sugar.
This post first appeared on FoodOpera | Stress Free Recipes - Minimal Cooking With Maximum Flavour, please read the originial post: here
