#72 - Margherita Pizzelle Fritte

Some of Johnny's relatives in Italy have made these crazy delicious mini fried pizzas, and they're so good that when Paola came over a few summers back, she didn't leave without revealing the recipe. Some of the Limarzis have made it in America before, and they came out pretty well. Now it's our turn to give it a shot.

Margherita Pizzelle Fritte

From Paola Cuomo Just like regular pizza, there are a bunch of different types of pizzelle you can make, and when we started out, we planned on making both the plain margherita pizzas and some that were stuffed with salami. We only ended up making the margherita pizzelle, so you won't need all the ingredients in the next picture to make these like we did. The main thing here is making the dough, which only needs to rest for about 45 minutes. Once the dough's ready to go, you form a bunch of little discs, and plop them in the frying oil. After a little bit of time, you flip them over, add a slice of cheese, and let it melt a bit. Then you pull them out of the oil, top them with a little bit of sauce and basil, and devour them as fast as you can without burning yourself. Because they are de-lic-ious. There's not much more to say than that. If you have some leftover pasta sauce and are ready to have your mind blown, make some of these.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 milk, warmed
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/4 tsp dry yeast
• 1 large pinch salt
• 3/4 Tbs olive oil
• Vegetable oil
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
• Tomato sauce
• 15 basil leaves

Preparation

1. On a wooden board, make a mound with the flour.
2. Form a volcano out of the flour and mix the milk and yeast into the hole.
3. Add the salt and olive oil.
4. Begin incorporating the flour into the wet ingredients, slowly pulling down the walls of the volcano.
5. When combined, form the dough into a ball.
6. Knead several times to ensure all wet ingredients are well incorporated.
7. Place dough ball in a bowl and cover with a dish towel, letting rise for at least 45 minutes.
8. Separate the dough into 15 small balls and flatten to form discs.
9. In a large frying pan, heat 1/4 inch vegetable oil over medium heat.
10. When oil is hot, add several of the discs, avoiding overcrowding the pan.
11. When golden brown on the bottom, flip and add a piece of mozzarella.
12. Spoon a small amount of the hot oil to help melt the cheese.
13. When both sides are golden and cheese is slightly melted, remove from oil.
14. Top each pizzella with a heaping teaspoon of sauce and 1-2 basil leaves.