New Year's Eve is a tradition in my part of my part to prepare fried panzerotti, an anniversary that has been going on for decades and which is a symbol of an era in which poverty was widespread and with simple water, flour and oil the needs of families were satisfied. .
The processing is apparently simple: water, flour, salt and olive oil but the process of kneading and mixing the products requires experience and mastery. The dough must be sufficiently elastic and moist otherwise the closing and sealing process will not be successful and during frying the filling will overflow into the boiling oil.
Once the dough is finished, my mother has prepared balls of about 70 grams, making a cross on the surface that improves the leavening, and lets them rest for about 30 minutes. In this way, their size also increases almost double and the dough also becomes softer and more malleable.
The next step is to roll out the balls with a rolling pin, place the ricotta or mozzarella and sauce filling in the center (you decide the filling), close the edges first with the palm of your hand and then with a fork. An absolutely efficient technique because during cooking in the oil the edges resisted the filling and remained perfectly sealed.
Cooking in boiling oil takes a few minutes and when the dough becomes golden in color, then it is necessary to remove it and place it on absorbent paper to dry the residues of the oil. Finally, the panzerotti are ready to be eaten.
What I love about preparation is actually the moment of family union. In the past, in fact, despite the poverty, the eve was a moment of family union in which lightheartedness distracted thoughts from sad reality. Those were different times, people really lived with very little and appreciated even the smallest things.
Food
Today we continue to maintain the tradition and the purpose of the preparation is the same, to spend more time with the family and leave bad thoughts and problems outside the walls of the house. The passion with which my mother works pasta is typical of the women of her generation, who grew up in a difficult environment and used to putting passion, love and commitment into it. The satisfaction comes above all at the end of the lunch when all the panzerotti are finished and the compliments flood above all from the grandchildren.
The tradition of panzerotti changes from city to city, but also from individual families. The addition of other ingredients or new fillings have followed over time, for example panzerotti filled with minced meat, tuna and mozzarella, mortadella and cheese and others are much more frequent.
But regardless of the filling, what unites the art of panzerotti, the secret ingredient, is the love that everyone puts into it during all stages of preparation, from the selection of ingredients to cooking. The panzerotto is a product also exported all over the world, often called in various ways, but the origin is unique.