Cenci Recipes

CENCI (FRIED DOUGH BOWS WITH CONFECTIONER'S SUGAR)

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients in a food processor. Roll thin with a rolling pin into a rectangle 8-inches long. Cut into strips approximately 1-inch by 8-inches. Twist the pieces softly and tie into a loose bow. Deep fry in oil until golden. Remove from the oil and sprinkle heavily with confectioner's sugar.

CENCI DI CARNEVALE (ITALIAN FRIED PASTRIES FOR CARNIVAL)

Steps:

• Put the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and orange zest in a bowl and stir until fully combined. Add the butter and crumb it into the flour using your hands until it resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre of the flour for the liquids.
• In a small bowl mix the eggs, vanilla and liqueur together. Pour them into the flour mixture and stir to combine everything together with a fork.
• Once a rough dough starts to form, use your hands to knead it for 5-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Wrap it in plastic wrap and leave it to rest for 30 minutes.
• Once rested, cut the cenci dough in half (wrap one half back up in plastic wrap). Flatten the piece of dough so it's thin enough to fit through the widest setting on your pasta machine.
• Sprinkle your work surface and pasta machine with a little flour. Pass the dough through the widest setting then continue to pass the dough through your machine whilst going up one number at a time until the dough is almost paper-thin. You may need to cut the dough in half if it gets too long so it's easier to manage.
• On most pasta machines number 0 is the widest setting and number 9 is the thinnest. I go up to number 8. The thinner the dough the crispier your cenci will be.
• Using a knife of fluted pasta cutter cut the cenci into strips about 2 inches wide then cut a slit in the middle of each one making sure not to cut all the way to the edges. This is a traditional way of cutting them but you can cut them into any rough shape you like.
• Heat the sunflower oil in a large heavy-bottom based pan, the oil should be around 2 inches deep.
• If you have a sugar thermometer it should be around 180-190C (350-375F). If not test a small piece of dough, if lots of bubbles surround the dough and it turns golden within a few seconds, the oil is ready.
• Fry the cenci in batches for a few seconds on each side until golden brown and bubbly. Drain them on kitchen paper as you go.
• Once cooled, arrange them on a serving plate and dust with powdered sugar.

CENCI--ITALIAN BOW TIES

Steps:

• Make a fairly stiff dough with these ingredients, kneading it thoroughly, and adding more flour if it comes out too soft. Flour it and let it rest, covered, for about an hour.
• Then roll it out into an eighth-of-an-inch-thick sheet, and use a serrated pastry wheel to cut it into strips 4 inches long and two and one half inches wide. Make a cut down the middle of each cencio (so as to obtain two strips joined at the ends), twist the side strips without breaking them,
• Fry them in hot oil or lard, and dust them with confectioners sugar when they're cool. This recipe is sufficient to make a platterful. Should the dough have formed a crust while it sat, knead it again before you roll it out.
• My Mom also drizzles honey before the confectioners sugar.