Sgonfiotti di Castagne (Hannukah Chestnut Puffs)

Hannukah Italian Baroness Tapuzina

If you have been following me for a while, you know by now that I like to try something different each year for Hannukah as well as other holidays in the Jewish calendar. Most of the time they turn out great and sometimes they don’t turn out so great. Usually I don’t blog about the disasters. I tried making pumpkin fritters for the first night of Hannukah. They smelled great, they looked good, but they tasted like fried goo. Thank goodness I had a lovely gargantuan fresh mango for Plan B.

I had bought chestnut flour a while back and kept forgetting to make something with it. I found all sorts of interesting recipes only to find out they tasted terrible. Either they were dry and tasteless or wet and gooey. I found an Italian recipe for chestnuts puffs and thought I would give them a try. The worst that could happen was that I will never buy chestnut flour again.

The dough did not rise very much and I didn’t have high hopes on the dough puffing up at all, but lo and behold, the dough did work. The taste is very interesting, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. They have the faint sweetness of fresh chestnut. Mr BT loved them. They are not very sweet, they almost taste like a fried graham cracker, but not. I am still on the fence about whether I really like them or not, but buying more chestnut flour is a great excuse for going to Umbria on another holiday. Maybe I do like the puffs after all.

Print
Sgonfiotti di Castagne - (Hannukah Chestnut Puffs)
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1-1/4 chestnut flour
  • 1/4 icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon optional
  • 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour plus extra for dusting
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Vegetable oil
Instructions
  1. Mix the warm water and yeast in mixing bowl of an electric mixer. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
  2. In separate bowl, mix 1/2 cup of chestnut flour, the icing sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
  3. In the mixing bowl, add the remaining 3/4 chestnut flour, all purpose flour, granulated sugar, butter, egg, and salt. Beat at medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 45 minutes.
  4. Heat about 7cm (3 inches) of oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat.
  5. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough to 3mm (1/8-inch) thick. Cut rounds using a floured 38mm (1-1/2 inch) round cutter.
  6. Fry the rounds, about 10 at a time, turning once until puffed golden, 30 to 45 seconds. Drain on a paper towel. Dust with the reserved chestnut-sugar mixture and serve warm or a room temperature.
Related Posts with Thumbnails

Written by Baroness Tapuzina

Michelle Nordell (aka Baroness Tapuzina) was a foodie from the womb growing up in the House of Weird Vegetables, so named by a family friend because all of the unusual and exotic food cooked and eaten there. She loves to change recipes using herbs from her garden and spices from the spice shops she enjoys visiting.

3 thoughts on “Sgonfiotti di Castagne (Hannukah Chestnut Puffs)”

  1. Pingback: Sgonfiotti di Castagne (Hannukah Chestnut Puffs) | JewPI

  2. Interesting recipe! I don’t think I have ever tried anything made of chestnut flour.Where does one find that? Sorry about your pumpkin fritters, I was thinking of using that but now I wont….;-)

    1. You should find some at a health food store like Eden. They have it at the Eden in Netanya.

Comments are closed.