Dad’s fried Easter pastry with honey

(Pignolata al miele di papà)

Serves 6–8

Like gnocchetti fritti, this sweet fried pasta dish is very rich and usually served in small quantities, as with biscuits or petit fours.

500 g (1 lb 2 oz/3¹/₃ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

100 g (3½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar

a pinch of fine sea salt

6 x 55 g (2 oz) free-range or organic eggs

good quality vegetable oil, for frying

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) honey

Combine the flour, sugar and sea salt on a work surface or large wooden board. The flour should form a peaked mound. With your hand, make a hole in the top of the mound so that it resembles a volcano. This hole needs to be big enough to be able to ‘house’ the eggs. Break the eggs into the hole. With your hand or with a fork, gently beat the eggs, then slowly incorporate the flour into the egg mixture. I do this by moving my hand in a circular motion, slowly incorporating the flour from the inside wall of the mound. Don’t worry if the dough looks like a mess. This is normal. Once fully combined, knead a little more flour into the dough if it feels a little wet and sticky. Set the dough aside and clean the work space. Dust some fresh flour onto the work surface and continue kneading the dough for another 5 minutes. Allow the dough to rest.

Roll the dough into a 1.5 cm (5/8 inch) log, then cut it into small pieces. Roll these pieces into balls about the size of small chickpeas. Heat the vegetable oil in a deep frying pan to 180°C (350°F) and shallow-fry the balls in batches for 4 minutes or until golden. Drain on a paper towel. Allow to cool completely.

Gently heat the honey so that it becomes a thin liquid, then fold it through the pastry balls. Allow to cool, letting the honey coat the pastry. It will have a runny, toffee-like consistency.