THE HISTORY OF THE STRUFFOLIS
The struffolis are the most Neapolitan sweets that are. To equal worth with the sfogliatella and the famous pastiera, and certain more than the babà, of Polish origin. Who has invented the struffolis? Not the Neapolitans, despite their proverbial creativeness. It seems that in the Gulf in Naples has gone them the Greek, to the time of Partenope. And from the Greek it would derive the name "struffolo": precisely from the word "strongoulos", rounded off. Always in Greek, the word "pristòs" it means cut. For assonance, one "strongoulos pristòs", that is a cut round little ball: or rather the struffolo, in Great Greece you/he/she has become "strangolapre (you) you": the name that is given to of the gnocchettis supercompatti, in degree of "to strangle" the avid members of the clergy. Since the shortage of certainties stimulates the imagination, somebody else is invented that struffolo derives to rub: the gesture that completes who works the pasta to roll up her/it to cylinder before cutting her/it in little balls.
There is also who amiss holds that the struffolo calls this way because "it rubs" the palate: in the sense that tickles him/it for his/her goodness. And who thinks straight, that the root of struffoli is to connect to the lard (the type of fat with which you/they anciently were done and in which were fried) If it is not well clear yet from what etimo. neither from what region - the struffolis originate (there is also who makes them be born in the Middle East), it is clear vice versa where they go: before in our bellies, and then on the sides (we have swallowed too many of it). Well known it is also their run: the struffolis are pushed in the whole Italy Centromeridionale.
1600 kitchen two famous essays, the Latins and the Nascia, quote as "strufoli. or also struffoli - to the Roman" of the prepared sweets to the same way of the Neapolitan struffolis. In Umbria and in Abruzzo the struffolo calls cicerchiata, because the tied up little balls of fried pasta with the honey have the form of cicerchie: vegetables that it is better not to eat because of their poisonous seeds that can provoke paralysis and hallucinations (in the certain zones of Italy, "but that, have you eaten cicerchie?" equivale to say "you have the distorted vision?").
Then, two names (struffoli and cicerchiata) for a same dessert. But also the opposite one: two different sweets with the same name. Struffoli, for the note.
The inhabitants of the Tuscia, region around Viterbo, calls today still struffoli those pancakes of soft and light pasta that are defined elsewhere "crackers", and they eat to Carnival.
The struffolis are also found in Palermo, with some small but not substantial variation, one of which it consists in the loss of a f ("strufoli"): the Sicilies were two, but the struffolo was only.
In the preparation of the struffolis very you/he/she is left to the nose (they have a beautiful aroma), but nothing is left to the case. Every little ball of fried pasta is a masterpiece of domestic engineering, selected in hundreds of years of experimentation in the kitchens of every type.
Why the true struffolo small dev'essere? Because so the surface of pasta that comes into contact with the honey increases, and the taste earns of it. And this happens only if they are manufactured some little balls of pasta of small dimensions.
The good relationship pasta / honey improves the family relationships, at least during the Christmas festivities. The struffolis improve the quality of the life. They do him/it now, and let's show up us how much they did him/it before: up to few years ago middle life was very more breve, and in average, very more wretched. He/she ate few and badly, except to Christmas and the commanded parties.
His/her children, then! Of merendine, not even the shade. The only consolation, for them (and for all the others.) they were the sweets as the struffolis: what they don't hurt, and they don't go to badly, in how much they preserve for a long time him.
The struffolis as all the evergreen, in their substantial immutability introduces a lot of variations: regional, relatives and personnels. In this I am some as the meatballs: even if the ingredients are exactly the same, you will eat so many different struffolis how many the houses are in which will be offered (or the confectioneries in which you will purchase them).
You will realize you that each believes that the "proper" struffolis are those authentic: those of the tradition, handed down by a grandmother, a mother or. still better! . from an aunt nun. This last, when there is, it is a guarantee: to Naples once the struffolis were prepared in the convents, from the nuns of the various orders, and gone in gift to Christmas to the noble families that were distinguished for actions of charity.
As it happens by now to all the abundantly encoded recipes, that seem not to introduce dark points, the struffolis are insidious: they hide in fact many secrets, guarded often jealously.
One of these are in the honey: what an abundant dev'essere. Without him, a dessert cannot define him really such. How symbol of the Sweetness, honey is a Myth: the Gemini Indians Ashvin, messengers of the gods, they eat honey in the early-morning sky, and the Bible tells as Sansone it extracted from the inside of the lion from him killed a honeycomb of bees and honey. The thing put him/it of good humor, so much to push to formulate him/it a riddle: "from the devourer the food has gone out, from the strong one the dessert has gone out" (Judges, 14).
Moral: from the death life is born. Speaking of birth, the corpicino of the Jesus Child is defined "rock that gives honey."
It is not therefore a case that the struffolis are typically a Christmas dessert.
Here is another golden rule: in the struffolis elements accessories don't exist. Everything is important. You give candied to the diavolillis.
In the recipe of the struffolis they find place orange and candied cedar, but the part of the lion (as in the pastiera and in the sfogliatella) makes her/it the candied pumpkin: the famous one "cucuzzata." If it is not already found ready here there are the instructions to do her/it.
THE LEGEND OF THE STRUFFOLO
When it rang the bell, Nap he woke up suddenly.
Who he ever allowed to break the quiet of their cottage in the wood, in that days of party?
Eolo puffed: "It will be another of that damned sellers of installments encyclopedias. The last one ended up buying him that that we had in the house. To us it didn't serve at all."
That beautiful tome of Scholar, that he/she read in armchair to the light of a mushroom to form of lampshade, lifted the look with gratification, to lower later immediately it with modesty.
On the door a small, but small, and chubby esserino had appeared.
Its voice was a kind of peeping.
"Helped me, I pray you! To Christmas all should be better, and me, not to boast me, good I am indeed it. Instead the people really in these days with me it becomes cattivissima. It pursues me, it sniffs me, it palpates me.
Please, hold here me with you. And' only for a few days: after the Epiphany, nobody will look me more up to the next Christmas."
"My God, as are Sweet! it " screamed I Gloat, after having shaken his hand, and to have tasted the liquid ambrato that you/he/she had remained on his fingers.
"And' that escaping I am fallen in a jar of honey. I hoped that this would have discouraged my pursuers, and instead no. To stop you/they have thrown me behind to me of everything: pieces of pumpkin, of orange and of candied cedar..."
"I see, I see - it interrupted him/it I Grumble, of rudeness. - You have them all stuck on, hammered inside everything that honey. Would need a good bath for all the devils!"
"True, true, true" they shouted in choir, from the sea mieloso, the colored diavolillis.
"Be', that want to make boys? Do we let him/it enter? I would not want to have some troubles with Bianca", it said I Gloat.
"But no. it intervened Learned. Up to that moment you/he/she had not opened mouth. - You will see that it will be happy to have him as guest of honor to the lunch of Christmas, questa..pasta of man."
"Thanks, of heart. it made the esserino lowering the head. In the action to bend it was seemed even more round. "I promise you that I won't bother too much you... after all it deals with few days."
"... Too much few", it murmured Learned, as soprapensiero.
"Pup, ago' to heat some oil in the frying pan... it is almost time of supper.
And you done before, a good time! You must be of lard: it enters, therefore. This Christmas you will eat with us: rather, we will eat with you. You will be the eighth dwarf. You chiameremo..sì, will call you Struffolo."
A fa ‘e struffoli è nu sfizio.
Cumminciamm dall’inizio:
faje na pasta sopraffina,
e po’ tagliala a palline,
cu na bona nfarinata.
Dopp’a frje. Già t’e stancate?
Chest è a parte chiù importante!
Mò ce vo’: miele abbondante
e na granda cucuzzata
(a cocozza nzuccherata).
N’è fernuto ancora, aspiette!
S’anna mettere ‘e cunfiette:
aggrazziate, piccerille,
culurate: ‘e diavulille…
Ma qua nfierno, è Paraviso!
Iamme, falle nu’ surriso!
Comme dice? “Mamma mia,
stanne troppi ccalurie
so’ pesante, fanno male?”
Si va buò,ma è Natale!