These delicious sweets are a must-have at every Calabrian home at Christmas time, but as Nonna says, you can enjoy them anytime!
Recipe:
Nonna starts with a “nest” of flour on her board. All told, she used 5.5 cups of flour (about 4.5 cups for the nest and an additional cup added in the process). She pours 4 eggs into the center of the nest, 1 cup of Marsala, 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1 cup of sugar, a pinch of salt, and 1 tablespoon of baking powder. Marsala is a fortified wine, that originates in Sicily. Alternatively, sweet wines can be substituted. Canola oil is used for frying and for the final step, honey, or substitute is used to coat them.
Nonna slowly starts to stir in the ingredients with her hands until a sticky dough forms. On a well-dusted board, Nonna kneads the dough until it comes to a smooth and shiny consistency. She covers the dough with a cloth and lets it rest about 20 minutes.
Then, with a technique, similar to that used in making gnocchi, she cuts a portion of the dough and rolls little snake-like pieces that are then cut about an inch long, and rolled down the backside of the basket, or any ridge-maker, including a fork.
Once all the dough has been cut and rolled, Nonna heats up canola oil (about an inch deep), and fries them until golden brown. And in a final step, Nonna heats up honey, adds a bit of water, and lightly coats each piece with honey. In Italy, fig honey is often used, but you could also use maple syrup, as she has here. You can only leave them plain or dust with icing sugar.
Of course, the final quantity varies with the size of your turdilli, but Nonna’s recipe made about 4 dozen.
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Buon appetito!