Caggionetti 

The caggionetti are the Christmas cake par excellence of Teramo. Originally from the Province of Teramo and then spread throughout the region, in every city of Abruzzo during the Christmas period these desserts are prepared and each area provides a variant in the filling. Similar to fried ravioli, the caggionetti in my country are filled with chickpeas, or chestnuts, dark chocolate and almonds. The recipe that I propose today involves the use of chickpeas, as my grandmother prepared them. At the end of Christmas lunch they can not miss!

The caggionetti, or "li caggiunitt" in dialect, are delicious fried desserts that are made during the Christmas period in Abruzzo. They are similar to ravioli and the secret to a perfect success of these delicacies is to make the very thin sheet, like that of strudel, you have to "read the newspaper" underneath. The filling has different variations, depending also on the various provinces of Abruzzo: chickpeas and chestnuts, honey and almonds; Then you know, as it happens with many Italian regional recipes, every family, every pastry shop has its own recipe.

Ingredients

For the dough

500 g Flour

1Egg

1 glass White wine

2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil

For the filling

500 g Chickpeas (or boiled chestnuts)

200 g Dark chocolate

100 g Toasted almonds

4 tablespoons Sugar

1 small glass liqueur for cakes

For finishing

frying oil to taste

Sugar to taste

Preparation

For the realization of the caggionetti, the night before soak the chickpeas. The next day boil them in boiling water and drain. Once cold, pass them with the vegetable mill and set aside the puree obtained. Chop the chocolate, toast the almonds and chop them. In a bowl put the chickpea puree, add the chocolate and almonds. Mix adding sugar and liqueur. On the pastry board arrange the flour in a fountain, add the egg, oil and a little at a time add the wine, until you get a smooth and firm dough. Work with the pasta machine, or with a rolling pin, and roll out a thin sheet. With a round glass, cut out many disks with a diameter of 4-5 cm and in the center of each place a tablespoon of filling. Close each half-moon diskette. In a large pot heat the oil and fry the caggionetti. As soon as they begin to brown, drain and dry them on absorbent paper. Serve with a sprinkling of icing sugar or granulated.