Les taralli nous viennent originalement de la région des Pouilles dans le sud de l’Italie, mais leur succès n’a pas de frontières. Ceux-ci sont parfumés au fenouil pour une petite touche de fraîcheur qui rappelle le printemps, mais on pourrait très bien y aller aussi avec des flocons de piment ou des graines de sésame. Pour l’antipasto, on les accompagne de charcuterie, de fromage et de légumes marinés, et hop, le tour est joué!

Appetizers

Fennel taralli

Name: Fennel taralli
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Yield: 40 - 50 taralli

Everyone has heard of crackers, breadsticks, and grissini. But have you tried taralli? These olive oil knots are somewhat like a distant cousin of the bagel … but much smaller and crunchier—perfect for appetizers! Just like bagels, they are boiled and then baked to create an irresistible texture. Taralli hail from the Puglia region of southern Italy, but they can be found all over. This recipe calls for fennel, which adds a springlike freshness to the crunchy treat, but you could easily swap it out for chili flakes or sesame seeds if you prefer. Serve on an antipasto board with cured meats, cheeses, and marinated vegetables. It doesn’t get much easier!

Preparation 15 min

Cooking time 50 min

Portions 40 - 50 taralli

Plan for 12 hours of refrigeration for the dough.

Perfect with my PINOT GRIGIO

Ingredients

700 g (5.5 cups) “00” flour (for the dough)

15 ml (1 tbsp) salt

7.5 ml (½ tbsp) sugar

15 ml (1½ tbsp) whole fennel seeds

250 ml (1 cup) dry white wine

250 ml (1 cup) Stefano extra virgin olive oil (more for the baking sheet)

125 ml (½ cup) all-purpose flour (divided, more for the bowl and the work surface)

Preparation

Put the “00” flour, salt, sugar, and fennel seeds in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. On medium speed, slowly incorporate the white wine and the olive oil. Mix until it forms a thick, even dough.
Generously flour a big bowl (all-purpose) and place the dough in it. Add a bit more all-purpose flour on top of the dough, cover the bowl, and refrigerate overnight.
Place the refrigerated dough on a floured work surface. Lightly knead the dough before dividing it into 10 equal portions.
Roll out each portion to form cylinders (about 35 cm long and 1 cm thick). Cut each cylinder into 4 or 5 even-sized sections.
Fold each section unto itself to form a sort of bow. (The bows are what we call “taralli”.) As you go, place the taralli onto a floured baking sheet.
In a large, shallow pot, bring about 6 litres of salted water to a boil. Immerse 5 or 6 taralli at a time in boiling water. (The water should continue to simmer as the taralli are added to avoid having them sticking to the bottom of the pot.)
When the taralli start floating to the surface, take them out with a skimmer or a slotted spoon, and drain them carefully. Place the drained taralli on a clean baking sheet and let rest for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 °F.
Lightly oil another baking sheet with a bit of olive oil and spread out the taralli on it. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven and transfer the taralli onto a cooling rack.
Savour the taralli nice and crunchy at room temperature.