From the kitchen of Podere Salicotto here is an ancient recipe from the Sienese tradition
From the kitchen of Podere Salicotto, here is another exquisite recipe: Easter Corolli, a typical dessert from the Sienese tradition!
The Easter party is approaching and the Tuscan tables are filled with many delicacies!
The arrival of Spring and the end of the Lent period, once very strictly observed, bring with them a lot of joy and lightheartedness. What better way to celebrate than by preparing an almost forgotten dessert, capable of recalling childhood memories?
If you love the intense aroma of aniseed seeds and the simple flavors of yesteryear, this dessert is for you!
Corollo is a dessert that has its roots among the peasant houses, in the farms in the Sienese hills. Here nothing was thrown away and therefore the leftovers of yeast, from the preparation of the Easter flatbread, (a bread prepared on feast days), were used to give life to this sweet bread. These delicious donuts on Easter day were tied with a ribbon around the necks of all the children: thus began a sort of competition as to who could eat the corollo without breaking the hole, making it last as long as possible attached to the ribbon.
Just one bite and the aroma of baked bread will take you back to your childhood, to your grandmothers’ homes where food was prepared together, before eating around a beautifully set table.
Have we intrigued you? Then fasten your apron!
INGREDIENTS
- 600 gr of 00 flour
- 100 gr of sugar
- 30 gr of brewers yeast
- A pinch of salt
- 50 gr of extra virgin olive oil
- 50 gr of lard
- 30-35 gr of aniseed seeds
- One egg
UTENSILS: electric mixer and three bowls, a baking tray
PROCEDURE
Let’s start by dissolving the yeast in warm water with a teaspoon of sugar. Wait about ten minutes for the yeast to activate. Meanwhile, pour the flour into the mixer and then add the salt, sugar and aniseed.
Once the yeast is ready, pour it into the mixture and mix at medium speed, adding the water slowly and the extra virgin olive oil also slowly. When the dough is well mixed, add the flaked lard, gradually incorporating it into the dough.
Knead by hand for about 10 minutes and if you want to be sure of the right consistency, pinch a small piece of dough by pulling it: if you roll it until it is transparent like a veil, you are on the right path! Place the dough in an oiled bowl and let it rise for at least 3 hours in a warm environment (the dough must almost triple).
We take the leavened loaf and divide it into many pieces from which we will obtain, by rolling them on the pastry board, cylinders of about 2 cm in diameter and 15 cm in length. We join the cylinder of dough to form a donut and place it in a pan previously greased with extra virgin olive oil or with lard. When all the corolli are ready and positioned, we beat an egg and, with the help of a brush, we will brush the surface of the donuts. Did you know that in the country houses, the housewives of the past used a chicken quill instead of the brush?
We bake in a preheated oven at 180 ° C for about 25-30 minutes, waiting until they have a nice amber color and voilà! Here are our corolli ready, perfect to enrich your Easter table, perhaps accompanied by a nice glass of Vin Santo.
Cooking lessons at Podere Salicotto
If cooking is your passion or if you simply want to learn new recipes, come and visit us at the Podere Salicotto farmhouse! Combining cooking lessons and exploring the wildest and most authentic Tuscany is always a great idea and here you will be in the right place to do it!
Thanks to Silvia’s cooking lessons, our guests will discover many secrets of the Tuscan tradition, cooking with organic ingredients.
We offer customizable courses and also vegetarian classes on request: from the classic ribollita, to the pici recipe, the traditional local pasta, you can cook in company, sipping a glass of wine from our cellar open 24h / 24h. Click HERE for more information.
If you feel like discovering all the secrets of Tuscan cuisine, we are waiting for you at Podere Salicotto, in the heart of the Crete Senesi.
Book now you holiday at Podere Salicotto, click HERE
Image taken from the site nicolanatili.it, photo credits: NICNAT Nicola Natili
