Last year I posted on “Grispelle” and la Grispellissima festival that is held December 8th in Feroleto Antico, where my family is from in Calabria but I didn’t include a recipe… so here it is. My family makes a fried potato-dough with and without anchovies every year at Christmas time: We call them grispelle & monacialli but they also have other names depending on where in Calabria you are from. Grispelle are doughnut shaped without anchovies and monacialli are small balls with anchovies inside.
Monacialli
Grispelle
What you’ll need:
- 5 pound bag of all-purpose flour
- 4-5 large potatoes (we use Idaho potatoes)
- Fresh yeast (about 2 oz)
- Salt
- Grated Parmigiano or Romano cheese
- Vegetable oil
- Canned anchovies in oil (for monacialli)
What you need to do: Peel your potatoes and boil them until they are soft enough to put through a potato ricer. Once you have riced your potatoes, place them in a large bowl and add some of the water used to boil the potatoes. Mix together until you have a thick potato/water mixture with no lumps (run your fingers through the water or strain the water to remove any potato chunks.) Let the potato water cool. Place the yeast in a bowl of warm water breaking it up with your hands until it is completely dissolved and then add it to your potato water. Now place your flour, salt and grated cheese in a large bowl and slowly add your potato water as needed to make your dough. The dough should have a soft and fluffy consistency.
Potato Water
Let the dough rise for 1.5 – 2 hours. We cover the bowl with a dish cloth and a blanket in order to keep the dough warm and speed up the process. When the dough is ready it should be soft and airy.
Once your dough is ready, you’ll need to oil down a large area (table, counter top, etc.) with vegetable oil. This is done so that the uncooked grispelle and monacialli don’t stick to the surface before you cook them as the dough is very sticky. Also set aside a bowl of oil to dunk your hands in while working the dough.
For monacialli, grab a small piece of dough and stretch it flat in your hands, then add a whole anchovy fillet and wrap the anchovy with the dough (see video below.) Place the monacialli on your oily surface while you make others. This will allow the dough to rise slightly before frying.
For grispelle, take a small piece of dough and poke a whole through the middle to create a doughnut shape and lay them on your oily surface while you make others.
Heat some vegetable oil in a large sauce or frying pan (use enough oil so that the grispelle and monacialli float while frying.) Add your monacialli or grispelle and cook on both sides until golden brown. Let cool and eat!
Grispelle are great on their own but you can also sprinkle sugar on them or dunk them in honey or maple syrup… as you can imagine, the kids love them this way. I’m a monacialli kind of guy. Whichever you prefer, enjoy and buon appetito!
PS – BUON ANNO A TUTTI!!
Joe, a belated Merry Christmas! Surely you noshed on a few of these savory Italiano donuts.
Health & happiness in 2010!
Oh my God these are a flashback to my childhood. My grandmother used to make ceppole with anchovies but I’m loving your version.
I too remember these growing up. Thanks for including the video.
I just saw something similar on another blog and the writer called it zeppole con alici and I was so intrigued because the only zeppole I’ve ever had was out of a paper bag with powdered sugar. This appears to be similar – is Monacialli more or less the same as zeppole?
Oh, would your family adopt me? Thesre are waves of my childhood softly floating over me. Thanks for posting this. Oh and Joe – oh my – your goodies came today. I am – without words – a writer without words? Oh no! I took a photo and am thanking you on my blog. And hiding the studd from my 20-something kids. The peppers – look amazing.
Happy New Year Joe to you and your lovely wife! I’d love to eat with you and your family just once!
Happy New Year Joe!
Maryann xox
New to your blog and love it. Happy New Year and look forward to reading more of your blog!
These look great! We ate some on Christmas eve morning too, but my family is from Basilicata and we call them Petole. I like mine right out of the oil and rolled in sugar!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for posting the recipe. My mom made them this year, but is getting on in age and I think it will be up to my sisters and I to carry on this tradition. Buon Anno!
Mmmmthis loke delish. Fried dough savory or sweet is hard to beat!
you’re a rhymer Marla!!
Joe you know how much I love this Monacialli recipe as my mother-in-law’s went to heaven with her! It tastes very much like the ones she used to make. My husband’s town called them zeppole in their dialect.
Just found your blog and found your grispelle. My Calabrian cousin gave me a similar recipe but I haven’t made them. I must try now that I have pics to go by. Thanks!
I have learned to cook traditional Italian dishes from my mother in law. They call these Kholura (I know I have misspelled this). Do you have a recipe for (again sorry for the spelling) Pitacelli’s? It’s basically flour, egg, milk and zuccini that has been soaked in salt. Then you spoon this mixture into hot oil. Mine NEVER turn out the may my mother in laws does…actually nothing ever does that’s why I need your help. Love your website.