Recipe: Cartellate or Crustoli for Laura

Cartellate, which are also known as crustoli, fr nzele, ncartiddati and scartagghiate:

"These are, he says, the foremost Puglian, or, to be more precise, Barese Christmas treat, the symbol of happiness, celebration, and fun. "We don't know their etymology or origin," he continues, "though linguists and historians have made some suggestions. They're first mentioned in the Ospizio dei Pellegrini di San Nicola di Bari's registry of provisions, meals and Sunday expenses from 1762, as coming from the Benedictine nuns of the Convent of Santa Scholastica, while the nuns mention them in a book that's a little more recent."

2 1/4 pounds (1 k, about 10 cups) unbleached all purpose flour (Italian grade 00, if you can find it)
4/5 cup (200 ml) dry white wine
2/5 cup (100 ml) olive oil
More olive oil for frying
2 1/4 pounds (1 k) cotto di fichi (?)
Powdered cinnamon and powdered cloves

Combine the flour with the wine and the olive oil; if the dough is too firm, add a little warm water, and continue working the dough until it is smooth, soft, and elastic. Next, pinch off bits of dough and form them into little loaves, which you will want to roll out quite thin. Cut them into roughly 2-inch (4 cm) strips with a serrated pastry wheel; you should obtain strips that are about 11 inches (30 cm) long. Fold the strips in half lengthwise and press them together a bout a half an inch up from one edge, to obtain troughs (for want of a better term) that you should twist lengthwise, attaching the ends together to form wreathes that are 2-3 inches (5-8 cm) in diameter). Dry the wreathes for 10-12 hours, then fry them 4-5 at a time in hot oil, frying them only until they color.

Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and set them temporarily on a plate.

Heat the cotto di fichi, being carful lest it boil and dip the cartellate into it 4-5 at a time, removing them after a few minutes and putting them on broad, low platters. If you want, you can dust them with finely minced cloves and powdered cinnamon.

Prepared this way they don't come out "plasticated," nor do they come out burned, the way they often do the pastry shops of other towns in the region.