Cicerchiata is a typical dessert of the Carnival period very widespread in Abruzzo, where it was recognized as PAT (Typical Agri-food Heritage). The cicerchiata is prepared by mixing the flour with eggs, sugar, oil and lemon zest, the mixture thus made must then rest for half an hour. The dough will then be divided into balls to be fried in boiling oil and then dipped in hot honey and sprinkled with colored sprinkles, candied fruit and almonds. Usually the cicerchiata is given the shape of a crown, but you can make it in an elongated shape, a pyramid or as you like.

Origins of the cicerchiata

For the Atlas of traditional Abruzzo products (ARSSA - Abruzzo Region, 2004), the origin of the product would be to be found in Abruzzo, in particular in the Sangro area, "thanks to the development of beekeeping which, yesterday as today , made available honey of excellent quality ". The origin of the name in these areas is to be attributed to the dialectal words used for the circle shapes, as in the same way there is a musical instrument called vatta-cicerchie (beat-circle)
For others, however, referring to more ancient times, it would originate from historic Umbria (i.e., roughly, Umbria east of the Tiber and the Marches) and only its subsequent diffusion from Umbria to the central Marche, to Abruzzo and finally to Molise he would have contributed to the opinion that it is a dessert from Abruzzo.
According to still others, cicerchiata is instead a sweet from the Marche region.
We at GustAbruzzo believe that the origin of cicerchiata is from Abruzzo

Cicerchiata recipe

Ingrediants:

• 400 Gr of fluid honey
• 300 Gr of wheat flour
• 100 Gr of toasted and peeled almonds
• 100 Gr of small colored sugared almonds
• 3 eggs
• ½ glass of dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• For Frying: Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Lard

Break the eggs into a bowl, add the oil, white wine, sugar, a pinch of salt. Beat everything thoroughly with a fork and then add the flour, a little at a time.
Then transfer the dough to a pastry board or a surface and knead it with your hands until it reaches an elastic and soft consistency.
At that point, divide the dough into small pieces and make sticks, rolling them under the palm of your hands. Then cut them into pieces roughly the size of hazelnuts, make balls and line them up on a lightly floured tablecloth.
Pour plenty of oil into a suitable pan, heat it and fry the dough balls. When they are golden, drain and place them on absorbent kitchen paper, so as to allow the elimination of excess grease.
Put a saucepan in which you have poured the honey over low heat and let it melt gently. Then remove it from the stove and gently pour in the previously fried balls, mix them and let them coat with honey.
Then place them on a serving dish and, with wet hands, give the balls a donut shape. Use the almonds with colored sprinkles to decorate the dessert.

I invite you to try cicerchiata, even if it is no longer Carnival and let us know what you think.
If, on the other hand, you have your own recipe or some advice on how to make it even tastier and you want to share them, we can't wait to try them.