These little olive oil and black pepper snacks hall from puglia and are very addictive. In Italy, these are served before a meal with aperitivos, but really they make excellent snacks at any time of day. You could try adding crushed fennel seeds as they work very well too.
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons (150 g) Italian ‘00’ flour, plus extra for sprinkling and kneading
- ⅓ cup (40 g) semolina (fine)
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or 2 teaspoons lightly crushed fennel seeds (optional)
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ⅓ cup (70 ml) dry white wine
- ⅓ cup (70 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 2 baking sheets, oiled
How to Make It
- Mix together the flour, semolina, pepper or fennel seeds, half the salt, wine and oil. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 2 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to relax for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Bring 900 ml/scant 4 cups water to the boil and add the remaining salt.
- Halve the dough and cut each half into 10 pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered with a damp kitchen cloth while you work. Roll one piece of dough into a 50-cm/10-inch long rope. Cut the rope into 5 pieces, then roll each piece into 10 cm/4 inch ropes. Connect the ends to form an overlapping ring. Continue with the remaining dough, keeping the taralli covered.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 5.
- Boil the rings in batches until they float, approximately 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to the prepared baking sheets and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes until golden. Cool on wire racks and enjoy.
