Taralli are delicious small biscuits-cum-crackers, which are similar in texture to grissini (breadsticks). They can be sweet or savoury.
They hail from Puglia in southern Italy and make a great after school snack, are brilliant with cheese and charcuterie and are also perfect to accompany your aperitivo! Taralli are very versatile.
Cooking taralli with children
There are lots of variants and – like with most Italian cooking – many, many different recipes and ways of making them. The following savoury one is very easy and uses just four ingredients. The kids can really get involved in making these.
Ingredients for taralli
- 225g of plain flour
- 100ml of dry white wine
- 60ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 5g of sea salt
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 190c (fan-assisted)
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil
- Mix the flour and the salt together in a bowl and then slowly add the oil whilst continuously stirring
- Slowly drizzle in the wine and stir until absorbed and it makes a nice dough
- Knead the dough (no flour required) for about 10 minutes. It should be smooth and springy
- Take a piece the size of a large grape and roll it into a sausage
- Make into a rough circle snd squeeze the ends together. Place onto a baking sheet and work your way through the rest of the dough
- Drop in your pinched circles in batches making sure they have enough room to move around
- Once they rise up to the top remove them (preferably with a slotted spoon)
- Place on kitchen roll and let dry for a couple of minutes. They’ll look a little unappetising at this point, but don’t worry!
- Lightly oil some baking parchment and put onto a baking tray and place the boiled taralli on top. Make sure they’re nicely spaced
- Bake for around 25 minutes (until lightly golden)
- Leave to cool thoroughly and then serve
Here’s a recipe from My Little Italian Kitchen for their sweet cousin – Sweet taralli cookies.
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