Growing up in an Italian household Calabrese Crispelle Fritters with Potato were a staple at Christmas time! My favorite were Crispelle with Anchovies, but there were also plain donut shaped crispelle for those that didn't fancy a fishy taste.
Crispelle are sometimes called Cuddrurieddri. Call them what you want, they make the perfect appetizer for a traditional Italian family dinner. Pair it with my Black Olive and Rosemary Focaccia Bread Recipe for an amazing combo!
Jump to:
- Here's Why You'll Love Crispelle made with Potato
- Ingredients You'll Need to make Calabrese Crispelle Fritters
- How to Make Calabrese Crispelle
- Possible Ingredient Substitutions and Variations
- Meal Prep Tips
- Equipment
- Storage
- Answers to Commonly Asked Questions
- More Appetizers
- Recipe Details
- Tips
- PIN it for later here
- Food Safety
- Comments
Calabrese Crispelle Fritters made with potato are more of a street food or poor man's food and generally made to eat on Christmas Eve when 12 meatless dishes are made and consumed. In my family, the majority of dishes contained fish like anchovies or cod.
Why meatless? Because in the Roman Catholic tradition, no meat or animal fat could be used on the eve of a feast day. Instead, we ate fish.
These Crispelle are made with mashed potato which makes the dough denser but soft at the same time with a crispy crust.
One of the other meals my momma made around Christmas was Salted Dried Cod in Tomato Sauce or we called it Baccala alla Livornese, Baccala alla Calabrese style! She also made this amazing Spaghetti with Anchovies a traditional Italian pasta dish.
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Here's Why You'll Love Crispelle made with Potato
You'll love these Calabrian Crispelle made with Potato for the following reasons:
- Light and Fluffy texture makes them not only the perfect snack or appetizer but addictive.
- Versatile recipe allows for either a savory or sweet product.
- Great tasting and not only adult but kid approved.
- Meatless and vegan options are perfect for any lifestyle.
Ingredients You'll Need to make Calabrese Crispelle Fritters
Being a poor man's, meal Calabrian Fried Crispelle uses minimal simple ingredients including: mashed potato, flour, water, salt, yeast, anchovies (optional) and oil for frying.
Anchovies are used to replace animal fat and bring a nice salty bite
Yeast is used as a leavening agent for these fried dough balls
Mashed Potato makes the dough soft and dense
See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Calabrese Crispelle
Combine warm water with yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes until it bubbles.
Add flour, mashed potato and salt and mix well. The dough should resemble pizza dough but a little more sticky.
Let rise for an hour.
If you are using anchovies, dry them on a paper towel so that they are not greasy and the crispelle dough sticks and closes when you fold it. Otherwise the crispelle will open up when frying.
Soak your fingers in the bowl of water and grab some dough with your hands. You can make ring crispelle if you are not using anchovies. Make rings by grabbing the dough stretching and making an opening in the middle then place them in fryer. If you are using anchovies, wet your gingers and grab the dough. Lay the dough flat in your hand, place anchovy in the middle, then grab on end and flip over, grab another end and flip over keep stretching and flipping dough until you have covered anchovy. Make sure the crispelle is sealed and you don't see any anchovy poking out.
Let fry until the underneath is golden, then flip and remove once hard on outside and golden. Let rest on a paper towel to soak the excess oil.
Possible Ingredient Substitutions and Variations
These Calabrese Crispelle are the ultimate comfort food as is, but here are some ideas to for substitutions and variations:
- Raisins- replace the anchovies with raisins for a sweet treat
- Ricotta - place a spoonful of ricotta in the middle and eliminate anchovies
- Plain - eliminate the anchovies all together
- Shape - make them in a ball or shape them in a doughnut
- Sugar - roll them in sugar immediately from frying and make Zeppole.
The perfect recipe isn't that far away. I'd love to know how you substituted ingredients to fit your dietary needs to make these Calabrese Crispelle or Zeppole. Drop a comment below and let me know!
Meal Prep Tips
Have a bowl of water near you just before you grab some dough. This will help keep the dough from sticking to your hands.
Place just fried crispelle on a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Keep warm for that just fried taste.
Equipment
A good non stick frypan is perfect for making this zucchini fritters. You won't need to worry about them sticking to the pan. Paper towel also comes in handy to absorb excess oil when you transfer them from the frypan to a plate.
And a spatula helps you to get the last bit of batter out of your bowls.
This page contains affiliate links, which means I may receive commissions if you choose to purchase through links I provide (at no extra cost to you). Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Storage
These Calabrian Crispelle with Anchovies store very well in an airtight container or bag. Store them in the refrigerator covered for 3 to 4 days. Warm in microwave to soften them up.
These Crispelle also store very well in an airtight container frozen for up to 1 month and can be made ahead of time no problem. Just thaw them out in the refrigerator 24 hours before use.
Answers to Commonly Asked Questions
Crispelli are basically fried balls of dough. Often crispelli are stuffed with anchovies or ricotta and sometimes rolled in sugar for a sweet treat.
Both the dough and the shape are different. Zeppole are looser than beignets. The dough of the of zeppole is a little more stickier. Beignets
Yes, the dough needs to be submerged and fried in oil. Then flipped half way through cooking. Remove fried crispelle and place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
More Appetizers
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe Details
Calabrian Crispelle Fritters with Anchovies
https://easyhomemaderecipes.caIngredients
- 8 ½ oz potatoes boiled, mashed [about 3 small potatoes]
- 4 cups flour
- 1 tbsp dry yeast
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups water warm
- 2 oz anchovies 1 small tin
- 33 oz vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Combine warm water with yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes until it bubbles.
- Add flour, mashed potato and salt and mix well. The dough should resemble pizza dough but a little more sticky.
- Let rise for an hour.
- When ready, heat about 1 quart of oil to 350 degrees to fry the crispelle.
- Test oil is hot by frying a little piece of dough. Have a bowl of water near you to soak your fingers so that the dough doesn't stick to your hands.
- If you are using anchovies, dry them on a paper towel so that they are not greasy and the crispelle dough sticks and closes when you fold it. Otherwise the crispelle will open up when frying.
- Soak your fingers in the bowl of water and grab some dough with your hands. You can make ring crispelle if you are not using anchovies. Make rings by grabbing the dough stretching and making an opening in the middle then place them in fryer. If you are using anchovies, wet your gingers and grab the dough. Lay the dough flat in your hand, place anchovy in the middle, then grab on end and flip over, grab another end and flip over keep stretching and flipping dough until you have covered anchovy. Make sure the crispelle is sealed and you don't see any anchovy poking out.
- Let fry until the underneath is golden, then flip and remove once hard on outside and golden. Let rest on a paper towel to soak the excess oil.
Notes
Tips
Have a bowl of water near you just before you grab some dough. This will help keep the dough from sticking to your hands. Place just fried crispelle on a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Keep warm for that just fried taste.Nutrition
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Food Safety
Note that the storage guidelines provided on this page and site are estimates from personal experiences. We are all adults and as an adult you are responsible to ensure that the food you eat is safe to eat. Since, I'm not a food safety expert, you are responsible to review your local guidelines on food storage prior to storing any food left-overs.
Remember to:
- Not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For Canadian Guidelines check the Government of Canada Food Safety Guidelines or see more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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