Christmas is around the corner, and we all look forward to the gathering of family and friends, over a feasting table, sampling traditional specialities of the celebration. What better way to celebrate life?

 Most people–regardless of their religion– enjoy the celebration of Christmas and all the delicious things to eat. There are many similarities between Indian Christmas and European Christmas–especially it being the season of feasting. The sweetness of the treats, the bright colours of the decorations. The embrace of the season’s indulgences!

Here is our Christmas gift to you: Chef Fabio Di Domenico recipe for Struffoli.

Preparation time: 2 hours

Difficulty: moderate   

Serves: 8-10 portions

Ingredients

• 300 g Italian type 00 flour (or flour for cakes)
• 3 medium eggs
• 30 g sugar
• 30 g butter
• 3 g salt
• grated zest of 1 orange, 1 lemon, and 1 mandarin
• To fry
• 1 lt peanut oil
• To garnish
• 20 g coloured sugar ball sprinkles
• 40 g candied citron, or if unavailable, any other candied citrus peel
• 40 g candied orange
• 300 g honey

Method

• Put the flour, sugar, butter cut into small pieces and eggs into large bowl.

• Wash and dry the lemon, orange and mandarin, and grate their zest into the mixture. Add the salt and start kneading until all the ingredients are well-combined. Transfer the dough to a well-floured work surface and knead to form a loaf of dough. Wrap it in cling film and let it rest for at least an hour in the refrigerator.
• After the resting time, divide the dough into 8 small pieces; work each piece on a pastry board to obtain a 1 cm diameter roll or stick from each piece. Cut the stick into 1 cm thick pieces and place them on a lightly floured cloth trying not to overlap them so that they do not stick together.

• When you have finished, pour the peanut oil into a pan and bring it to 170C° (be careful not to bring it over 175C°). Sift the struffoli so they lose any excess flour and fry them a few at a time so as not to drastically lower the temperature of the oil.
• When the struffoli are slightly golden, drain them with a slotted spoon and place them on a plate lined with absorbent kitchen paper. Continue until you finish frying all the dough pieces.
• Combine the struffoli with the honey, as well as the candied citron and orange, cut into small cubes and toss to mix well.
• Arrange the struffoli on a plate, in a pile or in a crown: to form a crown, place a jar or bottle in the centre of the plate. Arrange the struffoli all around, leave them for an hour and then gently remove the jar. Finish the preparation by garnishing with the sugar ball sprinkles.