Tarallini with Olive Hill EVOO

Our most popular snack at our aperi-tasting!

Back in the nineteen nineties, the Royal Air Force sent our little family to live in Puglia, the heel of Italy, and we spent two years living (and working, in Scott's case) as a part of the Aeronautica Militare at the base in Gioia del Colle.

Back then, nobody knew about Puglia's glorious coastline. The fabulous Trulli of Alberobello were abandoned by the locals, and undiscovered by the outsiders, who have since turned them into cute little holiday homes. The delicious primitivo wine was only good for shipping off to the North, to fortify their fancier reds, which lacked alcohol content. The olive oil was famous, of course, but yet to become infamous thanks to the corruption scandals and then the devastation of Xyllela fastidiosa.

But our home town of Gioia was known everywhere for its mouth wateringly good mozzarella, which made everybody even more bewildered as to why a little British family would "choose" to live there!

I learned how to make these Tarallini during my time in Puglia, where they are traditionally made with Pugliese EVOO and either local wine.

This is my version, which are really popular on our Grove Tours.

Recipe

  • 500g General Purpose, 00 flour

  • 200ml white wine (you can actually use red, if you prefer, but the flavour is quite strong)

  • 125ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil (preferably ours!)

  • Two teasoons of salt

  • One teaspoon of dried fennel (to flavour half the dough

  • One teaspoon of Turmeric Powder, half a teasppon of pepper (to flavour the other half of the dough)

In a jug, combine the EVOO, wine and salt by mixing vigorously with a fork.

Put the flour into a large mixing bowl, and pour in the liquid, mix together with a wooden spoon.

Take the raggedy dough ball out of the bowl, and divide it into two equal sized balls.

To one "half ball", add the fennel seeds. Knead it until it's nice and smooth, then wrap in cling film, and leave to rest for half an hour or so.

To the second "half ball", add the turmeric and black pepper. Knead until it's nice and smooth, with the turmeric evenly distributed,and the ball is a uniformly yellow colour. Wrap in cling film, and leave to rest for half an hour - ish.

After half an hour has passed, fill a large saucepan with water, add salt, and bring to the boil.

This is also the time to preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

While the water is coming to the boil, partially unwrap your fennel-dough-ball. Cut off a small portion, leaving the rest wrapped.

Roll this small piece with your fingers, to create a long "sausage", approximately the circumference of your little finger.

Cut this sausage into sections, each around 8 to 10cm long.

Shape each piece into a ring, pressing down the ends to seal the ring closed.

Once the water is boiling, drop the tarallini in, approximately 10 at a time. They will drop to the bottom of the pan, then, after a minute or so, they will float to the top again.

Capture each floating tarallino, and place them on a damp tea towel to dry.

Repeat this process as required, until all of your fennel, and all of your turmeric tarallini have been par-cooked.

Place the tarallini on a baking tray (I line the tray with baking parchment), then place in the oven and cook for around 30 minutes, until they are golden, and crunchy to taste.

Allow to cool completely, then store in an airtight container. They will keep for at least a month, if you can resist eating them for that long!