Panzarotti Recipes

Steps:

• Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, peel, and mash them in a bowl.
• Combine mashed potatoes, 1 1/4 cups breadcrumbs, eggs, flour, Parmesan cheese, pecorino cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper in a bowl; mix by hand until smooth. Scoop up 2 to 3 tablespoons of the mixture; shape into an oval, cylindrical croquette. Repeat with remaining mixture.
• Pour remaining 1 1/4 cups bread crumbs into a shallow plate. Dredge croquettes in the bread crumbs.
• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Fry croquettes in the hot oil in batches until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side, turning as needed. Drain on paper towels.

Steps:

• Make the dough: Mix the yeast with 1 1/4 cups warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the raw sugar and sea salt. Whisk and set aside. In a large bowl, sift together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flour. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture. Using your hands, mix in the flour until all the liquid is absorbed. Now sprinkle a clean surface with flour and knead the dough until it's smooth. If the dough is too sticky, add some more flour as needed. Once it's smooth, shape the dough into a ball.
• Coat a large ceramic bowl with a tablespoon of olive oil. Place the dough in the ceramic bowl and flip it over a few times to lightly coat the dough with oil. Loosely cover the top of the dough with plastic wrap and completely cover the top of the ceramic bowl with a dish towel. Let it rise for 2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size. Then punch down the dough and let it rise for another hour.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce: In a large bowl, hand crush the tomatoes. Add the olive oil, garlic, fresh basil, parsley, dried basil, dried oregano, chile flakes, Parmigiano, sea salt and lots of cracked pepper. Mix. Cover and let sit in the fridge for 3 hours, or overnight.
• Use a fine wire-mesh sieve to drain all the liquid from the tomato sauce. Roughly chop the drained tomato chunks into little pieces and set aside.
• Dust a clean surface with flour. Roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. If the dough is too sticky, dust with more flour. Once the dough is rolled out, use a 5-inch-round cookie cutter to cut about 10 to 12 circles of dough. On one half of each circle, place 1 tablespoon mozzarella, 1 tablespoon of drained tomato pieces, 1/4 teaspoon capers and 1 chopped anchovy and sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon Romano cheese. Fold the circles over and completely seal the edges with a fork.
• In a heavy pot, heat 6 inches of vegetable oil to 350 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer. Deep-fry the panzarotti until golden, crispy and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Place them on paper towels to drain the excess oil.

Steps:

• Pour enough canola or vegetable oil into a large Dutch oven to come 4 to 5 inches up the sides. Clip a deep-fry thermometer to the edge of the pan. Place over medium-high heat and bring to 365 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, place the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once warm, add the tomato puree and cook until bubbling and most water has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Dice the mozzarella and place in a strainer to remove any excess liquid. Set aside.
• Dust a work surface with flour. Roll the pizza dough out until it is 1/4 inch thick. Using a 4- to 5-inch biscuit cutter, cut out rounds. Spread 1 to 2 teaspoons cooled tomato puree on one half of a round. Top with a basil leaf and 1 tablespoon mozzarella. Fold the other half of the round over to enclose the filling and pinch the edges to seal. Continue until all dough is filled and sealed. (At this point you can freeze the panzerotti for up to a month.)
• Drop 2 to 3 panzerotti into the preheated oil and fry until golden, flipping them frequently, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain them on a plate lined with paper towels. Continue until all the panzerotti are cooked. Sprinkle with salt. Eat them hot!

Steps:

• In a liquid measuring cup, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Set aside for 5 minutes to bloom.
• In a bowl, add 3 cups (375 g) of the flour, Parmesan, baking powder, salt, and sugar, and stir to combine.
• Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and stir to combine. Pour the yeast water over the flour mixture and stir until the dough forms into a ball.
• Use remaining flour for dusting the surface. Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto your floured surface. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until the dough is tight and form the dough into a ball.
• Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil in a bowl. Place the dough in the bowl.
• Cover, let rise for 1 hour in a warm area, or until the dough has doubled in size.
• Flour the surface. Flip bowl over surface and let the dough fall out of the bowl. Cut the dough into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces. Roll into balls.
• Begin forming the dough into a circle about ½-inch (1-cm) thick and 5 inches (12-cm) wide, making sure the middle of the circle is not too thin. Repeat with the other balls of dough.
• Spoon 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce on to the center of the dough.
• Sprinkle 2 tablespoons mozzarella, then 1 tablespoon basil. Season with salt.
• Fold the dough over the fillings and seal. Pinch the edge of the dough together and fold back. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
• Heat 2 inches (5 cm) of oil until the temperature reaches 365˚F (185˚C).
• Fry the calzones 2 at a time for about 3 minutes on each side. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Place a bowl filled with the rest of the tomato sauce on the plate.
• Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• In sauce pan combine tomato sauce, water, lemon juice and spices bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
• While the sauce is simmering divide your dough into three parts then roll out each one making sure not to roll them out to thin.
• Allow the dough to rest.
• When sauce is ready add desired amount to middle of the pizza dough making sure to leave room around edge for folding.
• Top with cheese and pepperoni.
• Fold over and seal edges.
• Preheat oil in deep fryer or large pot to 375.
• Add panzerotti to heated oil cooking for 5 minutes then turn over and cook for another five.
• Remove from oil and place on paper towel.
• Let cool for a couple minutes before serving (leftover sauce can be used for dipping sauce).

Steps:

• In a small bowl, soften the yeast in the water, permitting it to rest and dissolve for 15 minutes. In another small bowl, combine the olive oil, the salt, and the milk. Measure out the flour and the polenta meal into a large bowl, add the yeast and the olive oil mixtures, forming a rough dough of the ingredients. Turn the dough out onto a work space and knead the dough to a smooth resiliency, a task that takes at least 6 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and permit it to rise for 35 to 45 minutes or until it has nearly doubled.
• Divide the dough in two. Roll out the first piece into a large rectangular shape about 1/4 inch in thickness. With a biscuit or a pastry cutter, cut 5-inch rounds from the dough. Reroll the scraps and cut again. Repeat the process with the remaining half of the dough. Cover the disks with a clean kitchen towel, permitting them a 10-minute rest.
• Place one-tenth of the mozzarella over one side of each disk. Dust the mozzarella with the pecorino, adding your choice of either the meat, the tomatoes, or the anchovies. Grind pepper generously over the filling. Fold the uncovered half of the disk over the filling, pressing down on the edges, sealing them well, then pinching the ends and forming a half-moon of the pastry.
• Cover the panzarotti with a clean kitchen towel while the oil heats in a deep, heavy pan. Choose the pan so that the liter of oil will yield a depth of at least 5 inches. When the oil is very hot but not yet smoking, add a few of the panzarotti, browning them well before turning them over with tongs and browning the other sides.
• Remove the panzarotti to absorbent paper towels, transferring them to a plate in a 150-degree oven while they wait the crisping of the others. Better yet, present them pan to plate to mouth right in the kitchen, as long as someone is dutiful about the furnishing of cold white wine.
• There's nothing to do but go out to dinner after the triumph of the panzarotti. There will seem few dishes with which one might follow these. Better to compare them to someone else's work than your own.