The sweet
If you happen to be around the Amalfi Coast on March 19th, a stop at Antica Osteria Nonna Rosa by Peppe Guida is a must to try his 100% traditional zeppola. "This is my family's recipe, passed down from my maternal grandmother to us, so it's centuries-old. I always make it early in the morning because it takes a bit of time and so I can offer it to those who come to visit, to the staff, and to the family. But now, during the weekend, you can always find it in coffee and pastry shops, adulterated with colorful toppings and fillings of fantasy. I've even seen one soaked in melted chocolate, others filled with tiramisù and pistachio."
The recipe is traditional, but the ingredients are top-notch: besides eggs from the house's chickens, there are homemade semi-candied sour cherries, placed in a jar with sugar in the sun and then taken out in the evening, so that the change in temperature reproduces a soft semi-candied texture, with its thermal swing, without cooking. "The texture and flavor are completely different," Guida boasts.
But zeppole are not only eaten for breakfast: they are an excellent dessert even after a meal, usually with coffee or a good chilled limoncello, like the house one, which pairs divinely. And there's even a savory version, made with the same dough and a filling of Neapolitan-style escarole, with olives, capers, anchovies, and pine nuts, topped with curls of butter and salted anchovies, served mignon in an amuse-bouche.
Zeppole di San Giuseppe recipe by Peppe Guida
For the zeppole
- 450 g sifted flour
- 500 ml water
- 8 medium eggs
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 60 g butter/lard
- 1 pinch of salt
- Oil for frying
Method
In a saucepan, pour the water and add salt, sugar, and butter. Place over heat and when the fat is melted and begins to boil, add all the flour at once. While still on the heat, mix the mixture well with a spatula until it detaches from the walls.
Let the dough cool on a cold surface and knead it a little with your hands, being careful of the heat. Once lukewarm, transfer it to a bowl and add two eggs at a time, adding the next ones only when the first ones are well incorporated. You will get a very soft mixture.
Put it in a pastry bag with a star tip and form the zeppole on a piece of parchment paper measuring 10 x 10 cm, well greased.
Heat the oil to 170/180 °C. Using the parchment paper, slide the zeppola into the hot oil, being careful to keep the "curly" part well immersed. The zeppola will begin to inflate slowly, and when it is golden brown underneath, it can be flipped and browned on the other side. Allow to dry well on paper towels.
For the pastry cream
- 500 ml milk
- 110 g sifted flour
- 200 g sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- Lemon zest
Method
In a saucepan, heat the milk with the lemon zest. In a bowl, mix the sugar with the flour and start tempering with a little warm milk. When a smooth and homogeneous cream has formed, add the beaten eggs. Pour the mixture into the milk and mix well. Once it reaches a boil, the cream is ready. Let it cool well, covered with plastic wrap directly on the surface. It should be slightly thicker than usual.
At this point, start whipping the cream with a hand blender. It shouldn't be whipped to stiff peaks, but semi-whipped. Pour the cream little by little into the whipped cream and blend each time with the hand blender. You will get a smooth final cream with the right consistency. Put it in a pastry bag with a star tip.
For the garnish
- Pastry cream
- Approximately 300 ml of fresh cream
- Syrup-soaked sour cherries
Assemble the zeppola with a dollop of pastry cream and some syrup-soaked sour cherries.
Contacts
Antica Osteria Nonna Rosa
Address: Via Laudano, 1, 80069 Vico Equense NA
Phone: 334 391 7950
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