Directions
The recipe for this Torta Fritta (fried cake) comes directly from the kitchen notes of my grandmother, a cook born and raised in Parma.
Now it’s not like I always want to pull out a relative to justify a recipe, but the sources are solid and there is also evidence this time.
Just look at the photo above, handwritten, strictly on an old notebook from the 70s.
It’s better to say that every cook, restaurant, lover of Torta Fritta and cured meats have their recipe, variations, and particular doses.
This recipe is handed down in my family and has never been lacking on essential occasions. You try it and do what you want with it.
Now, you are guessing what Torta Fritta is. Is it a dessert? No, like Gnocco Fritto, it’s a kind of fried pita or naan, the classic piece of fried bread you eat in Emilia with cold cuts as an appetizer.
Ingredients for making parmesan Torta Fritta
- 1 kg of flour
- 35 grams of olive oil
- half a glass of grappa
- 3 eggs
- 10 grams of dried yeast
- 15 grams of salt
- cold milk
- 20 grams of sugar
How to make the perfect Torta Fritta
Put the flour in a large bowl, pour in the yeast, salt, sugar, stir, and then add the eggs to the oil and mix well.
Pour the grappa a little at a time and continue kneading.
Now add some milk until the dough is firm, elastic, but no longer sticks to your hands.
More or less, it must be a dough of the same consistency as pasta dough you make for tortellini and tagliatelle, but a little softer.
As my grandmother always said: knead at 12 and knead the dough in the evening or wake up early. In any case, if put in the plastic wrap, the pasta will keep for 1-2 days in the refrigerator, even if it is better to get it out quickly.
After resting for 8 hours, flour a cut and cut some reasonably large pieces of dough, such as a peach, and roll them out with a rolling pin or machine until you get a sheet 8 wide and as long as possible.
We can argue about the thickness. Better to stay on a thin consistency, maximum 4-5 mm. It must not be chubby like a ficattola but crunchy and light.
It would be better to make the strips of dough in advance and let them rest for 30 minutes, covered with a cloth, but you can also roll out and fry.
Ok, we’re almost there. There’s no cooking. Here, too, the old people used a jar of lard and if you want to make the original recipe, lard is a crucial ingredient, but times have changed now, so sunflower oil if you really can’t stand the idea of lard.
Pour 2 liters of sunflower oil into a large pot, bring to a temperature of 180 ° and throw in the pasta. Fry until they swell. 2-3 minutes should be enough.
The beauty of the fried cake is its crunchy texture on the outside and soft on the inside, so be careful not to overcook it. The crust must fall apart. This is normal.
Pair the fried cake with Parma ham, culatello di Zibello, salami di Felino, shoulder of San Secondo, cracklings, Parmigiano Reggiano, fried eggs and Piacenza bacon, squacquerone cheese (heresy from Romagna) and orange marmalade, speck.
A little final consideration on yeast. Now the mother yeast is also added to the cappuccino in the morning, but some used vanilla yeast or added a teaspoon of vanilla to give it a sweet and aromatic touch. I throw it there as a folklore note.
Which wine goes well with the fried pie with salami?
Lambrusco or Malvasia di Parma as per tradition, but be careful: uncork only authentic wines from Emilian artisans and not the industrial broths sold for 3 euros a bottle. Otherwise, it is better to drink a soda.
If you want to pair a cocktail, the Moscow Mule has the right thickness to cope with this wave of fried food.
