A few weeks ago we talked about the most famous dessert of the friulian tradition: Gubana! We should have mentioned, together with it, something equally greedy, similar in taste and with the same filling: Strucchi.
Delicious specialties of the Cividalese and the Natisone Valleys, in the past they were served instead of sugared almonds at weddings or other special occasions as Christmas and Easter. Another interesting fact is that there was during the festivity of Sant 'Antonio (patron saint of the valleys), on January 17th, they were produced in large quantities and offered to loved ones.
Whether fried or cooked in salted water and then seasoned with butter, sugar and cinnamon, these cute crescent-shaped ravioli are a true institution of good Cividalese eating and a temptation for those who have never tried them. The small size does not help, because it is not limited to a single taste, and in addition to being perfect after a lunch or dinner, I assure you (and I tried it) they are a temptation if eaten walking through the streets of Cividale, and without noticing, you will run out of the bag.
Strucchi are full of taste, especially in the filling in which dried fruits, sultanas and spices are combine in a perfect mix.
There are two types of Strucchi, boiled or fried, and while the filling is the same, they differ in the dough, for the fried ones are made of a shortcrust pastry, while the boiled ones are wrapped in a potato based dough.
FRIED STRUCCHI
Ingredients for the dough: 250g of flour, 75g of sugar, 80g of butter, a teaspoon of yeast, 1 egg, 1 yolk.
Ingredients for the filling: butter, sugar, pine nuts, chopped walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, grated chocolate, raisins, grappa or rum, breadcrumbs.
Start with the filling, where you will melt a knob of butter, once melted add the pine nuts and cook until they have a golden color, then all the other ingredients, sugar and breadcrumbs and stirr until completely mixed. Now make the shortcrust pastry, roll it out, create the ravioli and put a tea spoon of the filling in the center, then close them. Fry them in boiling oil and once cooked sprinkle them with sugar.
BOILED STRUCCHI
Ingredients for the pasta: 200g of potatoes, 300g of flour, salt .
The filling is the same as the fried ones.
For the pasta, boil the potatoes, peel them, mash them on a pastry board to create a fountain, add the flour and a pinch of salt, knead everything, roll out the dough and create your ravioli which will then be stuffed. Boil them in abundant salted water for 10 minutes, then drain and place them on a plate, meanwhile in a small pan melt 50g of butter which you will then distribute on the strucchi with sugar and cinnamon.
