Crostoli

Serves:

Makes 20

Ingredients:

1 egg
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp Marsala wine, or sherry
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp butter, softened
grated rind of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups flour
vegetable oil for frying
icing sugar for dust

Directions

Whisk the egg and caster sugar together in a small bowl until pale and frothy. Add the Marsala, milk, butter and lemon rind. Add 1 cup of flow and mix well, then slowly add the remaining flour until the dough is coming away from the sides of the bowl. Depending on the size of the egg, you may not need all of the flour- just proceed slowly until the dough has reached the desired consistency.

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and roll out to 2 mm thick. (Dust the dough and rolling pin with lots of flour to prevent sticking.) Using a pastry wheel, cut into 3*8 cm long strips- about the size of a Weetbix.

Heat the oil to 180C. Deep fry the pastry for 2-3 minutes in batches, turning to cook evenly. Cook until they are a lovely golden brown colour and very crispy. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle generously with icing sugar. Serve warm.


Recipe courtesy of Jo Seagar, from her book 'Italia'