Kroštole
Kroštole or hroštole are a staple of Istrian cuisine present for every major holiday or feast, though they are especially popular during the carnival season. There are many recipes for Kroštole and all require flour, sugar, fat or oil, and brandy or white wine. They are made from unleavened dough.
The name comes from the Latin words crusta, which means a crust, and crostolar, which means to crisp. Kroštole are also prepared in other regions in Slovenia under different names, for example, krhki flancati, and in other European countries (Chruściki in Poland, Chiacchiere in Southern Italy). In English speaking countries Kroštole style dessert is called angel wings.
Recipe
Ingredients:
250 g flour
4 egg yolks
40 g melted butter
2 tbs sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp rum
3 tbsp sour cream
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp white wine
oil (for frying)
Instructions:
Add flour, egg yolks, melted butter, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, rum, sour cream, white wine and a pinch of salt to a large bowl and knead into a smooth dough (about 10 minutes with a stand-mixer and a little longer if you knead by hand). Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
Take half the dough and roll it as thinly as possible into a rectangle (you can also use a pasta machine for this step). Take a rolling cutter and cut out rectangles. Shape them as you wish — there are no rules. For example, you can cut each rectangle twice or three times as depicted in the picture below. Take one corner and pull it through the middle slit and then the diagonally opposite corner and pull it through the middle slit.
- Heat oil at least 5cm deep in a large Dutch oven to 175C (350 F). If the temperature of the oil is too high, kroštole will turn out brown.
- Fry for about 30-60 seconds, turn and continue frying until golden in color. Place kroštole on a wire rack lined with a paper towel.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.