CRESCENTINE & TIGELLE in BOLOGNA
CRESCENTINE of BOLOGNA
inBologna
Although not a type of pasta, crescentine (also known as crescenti) are just as important in Bolognese cuisine. These fried dough specialities take pride of place in countryside trattorias and the osterias of Bologna’s historic centre. Served piping hot with cured meats, they come in various sizes and are Bologna’s equivalent of gnocco fritto from Modena, Reggio Emilia and Parma, pinzino from Ferrara and piada fritta from Romagna. They are made from a simple dough fried in lard or olive oil. Eat them with your hands, using one or two pieces depending on their size, and fill them as you please with pesto bolognese (a spread made with pork fat and aromatic herbs), local cured meats and ham, fresh cheeses such as crescenza, stracchino and squacquerone, and homemade pickles and vegetables preserved in oil.
COOKIES RECIPE
Ingredients:
1 kg of type 00 flour, 1 cube of brewer's yeast, 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of fine salt, warm water, whole milk.
Procedure:
Mix the flour with the salt and form a well in the center of which pour the yeast dissolved in warm water and the oil. Knead vigorously, adding milk until you obtain a soft and homogeneous dough. (If you want a even crispier fritter, add a teaspoon of vinegar to the dough).
[note: the yeast can be replaced with 1 tablespoon of baking soda]]
Let the dough rest in a bowl covered with a damp cloth for more than 2 hours. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 3-4 mm, cut it into diamonds or squares, and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Then fry them in small batches in lard (it doesn't seem it, but it's lighter!) or in peanut oil. Fry each piece for one minute per side (until lightly golden) with the dough puffing up and forming bubbles as it rises to the surface. Serve them while still hot in a bread basket or on a tray lined with paper towels.
Mountain Crescents or TIGELLE
The mountain crescents or tigelles come from the Apennines; they have a characteristic round shape due to the molds used to cook them, which in the past were stone disks, hence the name. In this case too, the dough is the basic bread dough, but the cooking method is completely different as they are not fried.
Ingredients: As for the crescentine recipe, but with one extra teaspoon of sugar, dissolved in the lukewarm milk together with the yeast.
Method: Prepare a soft dough as in the crescentine recipe and leave it to rise in a covered bowl for about 2 hours. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about ½ cm, cut out rounds using a glass and cook them in a preheated tigelliera (a traditional tigelle pan).
Serve the hot tigelle: cut them in half horizontally, fill them with pesto and/or with salumi, fresh cheeses, pickled vegetables, pork cracklings, and grilled sausages.
BOLOGNA PESTO
To accompany Crescentine and Tigelle:
Ingredients:
- Lard or bacon
- chopped garlic cloves,
- a sprig of rosemary, black pepper,
- grated parmesan
Procedure:
finely chop the lard or pancetta with the garlic and rosemary, add pepper from the mill