Galani

Name: Galani
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Veneta
Ingredients: 300 g tipo 00 flour; 40 g caster sugar; 30 g Unsalted butter; 2 whole Eggs; 30 ml grappa; 1 tsp lemon zest; 2 g Fine sea salt; 1 l sunflower oil; 50 g icing sugar

Thin, blistered Carnival pastry ribbons fried until crisp and dusted with icing sugar. Known on the Venetian mainland and wider north-east as crostoli.

🇮🇹Italy· Veneto

Prep: 40 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 55 min
Servings: 6
Difficulty: Medium
Calories: 280 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 9 gathered

Servings

300 g tipo 00 flour — sifted
40 g caster sugar — fine
30 g Unsalted butter — softened at room temperature
2 whole Eggs — medium, free-range
30 ml grappa — Venetian grape spirit
1 tsp lemon zest — finely grated unwaxed lemon
2 g Fine sea salt — one small pinch
1 l sunflower oil — for deep-frying
50 g icing sugar — for dusting

Equipment

•Pasta machine or rolling pin
•Fluted pastry cutter
•Deep frying pan
•Slotted spoon
•Kitchen paper

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 280 kcal
fat: 9 g
carbs: 44 g
fibre: 1 g
protein: 5 g
calories: 280 kcal

Instructions

1
Sift the flour onto a clean board and form a deep well in the centre.
2
Add the eggs, softened butter, sugar, grappa, lemon zest, and salt into the well.
3
Whisk the inner liquid with a fork, drawing in flour gradually from the edges.
4
Knead the dough vigorously by hand for ten minutes until smooth, elastic, and firm.
5
Wrap the dough tightly in clingfilm and rest at room temperature for thirty minutes.
6
Roll the dough with a pasta machine or rolling pin until translucent and paper-thin.
7
Cut the thin sheet into ribbon strips using a fluted pastry wheel.
8
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan to 175 degrees C.
9
Fry the ribbons in small batches for thirty seconds per side until pale gold and blistered.
10
Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain thoroughly on kitchen paper.
11
Dust generously with icing sugar once cooled and serve crisp.

Chef's tips

Roll the dough as thinly as possible, nearly translucent, so it puffs instantly into fragile bubbles. The addition of grappa aerates the dough and prevents it from absorbing excess oil. Keep the oil temperature steady around 175 degrees C so the ribbons crisp without burning.

Ingredient substitutions

grappa → dry white wine or rum for a mild fruity aroma
butter → pork lard (strutto), the traditional rustic fat for extra crispness

Storage

Store completely cooled galani in an airtight tin or cardboard box lined with paper for up to four days.

Reheating

Do not reheat; serve crisp at room temperature.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Rolling the dough too thick, resulting in a dense chewy pastry rather than a crisp ribbon.
•Frying at low oil temperatures, which makes the pastry greasy and prevents blister formation.
•Dusting with icing sugar while piping hot, causing the sugar to melt into a sticky glaze.

Serving suggestions

Pile high on a large serving dish and dust generously with icing sugar.Serve alongside a glass of sweet sparkling Prosecco or regional Moscato.Enjoy as part of a Carnival dessert spread with Venetian fritole.