1 oz Brewers yeast
1 tsp Sugar
1 oz Lard or extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Vinegar
Oil for frying
1/2 cup Milk
Pepper
Salt
If it is well cooked, the dumpling is swollen, golden, dry, and empty inside. To achieve this result the oil must be very hot but not boiling.
How to prepare fried dumplings: Mix the ingredients. Put the yeast in a bowl, add 1 pinch of a teaspoon of sugar and 2 tablespoons of warm milk and stir to melt. Collect the flour on the pastry board, make the fountain, pour the yeast in the center, add the remaining milk and a dl of warm water and mix the ingredients.
Work the pasta. Also add 1 ounce of lard (or,2 tablespoons of oil), half a teaspoon of salt, and vinegar, which will make the dough more crumbly. Mix all the ingredients with your fingertips, then knead together, if necessary, a little more water. Work vigorously until the dough is smooth and homogeneous.
The leavening. Form a ball with the dough and put it in a bowl very large, lightly floured; practice on the surface a cross-cut, cover with a cloth and let rise in a lukewarm place (25-26,) for a couple of hours, until the volume is almost doubled.
Roll out the dough. After rising, put the dough back on the floured pastry board, rinse it with the palm of your hands to deflate, and work it vigorously for a few minutes; Take it again with a ball and roll out with a rolling pin in a sheet of 0.5-inch thickness.
Cut the pastry. With a pastry cutter wheel with smooth edges (or with a large knife with a smooth blade) cut the dough into strips 2 inches wide, first in one direction, then in the other, so as to obtain many diamonds equal; enlarge them on the floured pastry board and, While waiting to fry them, cover them with a cloth.
The frying. Heat plenty of oil in the frying pan, when it is hot (but not steaming) dip 3-4 diamonds of dough; as soon as they are puffed and golden on one side, turn them gently and let them brown on the other side. Drain them on absorbent paper and serve them hot.
Tips for preparing a perfect fried dumpling
If you use lard to fry, you will get a dumpling more tasty and golden, but less dry. Also, remember to serve it immediately because this fat cools much faster than oil. If it is well cooked, the dumpling is swollen, golden, dry, and empty inside. To achieve this result the oil must be very hot but not boiling; if you have the thermometer, check that the temperature does not exceed 356ºF, otherwise dip a piece of dough that will have to sizzle, brown but not burn. If the oil is too hot, add a little more, raise the flame for a few seconds at most, then proceed to fry. Cooked ham, coppa( air-cured pork meat)salami,dry-cured ham, and other central Italy cured meats are the traditional accompaniment of fried dumplings. This tasty pairing is ideal for a snack in company watered by a good glass of Lambrusco, but it will also be appreciated as an appetizer, in a lunch of rustic tone.
