Pignoccata

Pignoccata dolce tipico di Carnevale in Sicilia

On a work surface make a well of flour, puor in all the ingredients and work first with a fork and then by hand, kneading the dougt until it is compact and smooth. Cover with kitchen film and place in the refrigerator for an hour. Remove and start to break off pieces of dough, make strips of 1 cm in diameter and cut into pieces of 2 cm in length. Fry in plenty of extravirgin olive oil and drain when golden brown; dry on kitchen paper. Heat the honey in a saucepan with the water and sugar until the frosting takes on a smooth texture, then turn off the heat and dip in the fried dough, stirring gently with a spatula. When the pignoccata is evenly glazed, place on a serving dish and garnish with the coloured sprinkles, toasted almonds and thinly-cut orange or bergamot zest.

Ingredients for the dough:

500 grammi flour

5 eggs

100 grammi of sugar

1 pinch of salt

2 tbsps extravergin olive oil or lard

grated zest of 1 orange or 1 bergamot

1 tsp of ground cinnamon

extravirgin olive oil for frying

Ingredients for topping:

250 grammi honey

50 grammi water

coloured sprinkles

chopped toasted almonds

strips of candied orange or bergamot zest.