Galani alias Chiacchiere – Sweet fried thin pastry strips
In the Republic of Venice, Carnival began on December 26 and continued until Fat Tuesday. The next day, Ash Wednesday, Lent began.
A sweet, typical dessert of the Carnival were the Galani which claim very ancient origins. To trace the origin of these sweets, we must go back to the times of the Romans, who, during the Spring Festival, used to prepare some cakes very similar to galani, made with the same mixture of lasagne and fried them in pork fat and then covered them with honey.
During Carnival time in Venice, all pastry shops and bakers sell from the beginning of January until the end of the carnival the Galani, also known as crostoli or chiacchiere or cenci. But there is a subtle difference, not so much in the dough, as in the thickness of the dough and their form, between crostoli, typical of the Venetian mainland and Galani, typical sweet of lagoon. The Galani, in fact, are thin and very friable.
Carnival has started so yesterday Arianna, my mother Laura and I decided to make Galani , sort of sweet pastry thin strips who are then fried in hot oil. This is a very traditional treat for this time of year. I suggest that if you decide to do this recipe (which is very easy but also requires speed) you do it with a friend or a family member, so while one person rolls the pastry the other one fries and it gives you plenty of time to have a good chat!
If you would like to come to Venice and learn how to prepare these wonderful Italian Carnival desserts or any other recipe, don’t forget to book your place in our cooking lesson in the city of Venice.
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