Carnival time in Sicily is a moment of a big party, glitz, and celebrations full of colors.
The term carnival derives from the expressions “carnem levare,” referring to the ecclesiastic ban on eating meat during the Lent season.
The first historical references to the Sicilian Carnival are from 1600 and are located in the city of
Palermo. At the time, Carnival was a theatre of baroque costume and comedies represented in squares. Theaters became ballrooms where everyone would wear a mask.
Today, the carnival is celebrated in many cities of the world and many cities of Sicily, where usually the day
is full of parades with masks, allegorical floats, and music.
We celebrate, before the carnival parade, different days of carnival: Thursday of cousins, Thursday of
friends, giovedì grasso where usually a typical dinner is with “sugo” tomato sauce and meat. The last day of celebrating during this period before the Lent season is martedì grasso, fat Tuesday.
A typical sweet food in Palermo during carnival is “chiacchiera.” It is a crunchy pastry fried or cooked in the oven.
Here’s a quick recipe for chiacchiere — 40 pieces:
Ingredients for authentic Sicilia chiacchiere:
flour 00 500 gr
butter at room temperature 50gr
3 medium eggs
vanilla
a pinch of salt
sugar 70gr
1 yolk
baking powder 6gr
grappa
To make the chiacchiere, sift the flour with the baking powder and add to mixer (leaf beater suggested).
Add the sugar, salt, beaten eggs, yolk, grappa. Work until all ingredients are mixed very well.
Add the vanilla, butter and continue to mix for 15minutes until you will obtain a homogenous mix.
If it needs, it is possible to add 5/10gr of water. Move the mix on a surface and give it a spherical shape.
Wrap it in plastic wrap and leave it in room temperature for 30minutes. After this time, divide the dough in pieces about 150gr each and manage every piece individually.
Flatten and flour it and spread with the aid of a rolling pin.
Do the same steps with the other pieces.
Leave them to rest and warm up the oil. With a scalloped wheel proceed to create some rectangles.
When the oil is warm enough, it is time to fry them and with the aid of forks, turn them from one side to the other side.
At the end, you can add or pudding sugar or warm chocolate and they are ready to tasty.
Enjoy the chiacchiera!!