Donzelle

I first had these pillows of puffy pizza dough in a restaurant in rural Tuscany. They came as part of the largest antipasto I had ever seen complete with what seemed like fifty shades of salami and a whole dairy farm’s worth of cheese.

Their name varies from village to village, but in the Tuscan Valtiberina they are called donzelle. I like to think that this derives from the fish of the same name – the Mediterranean rainbow wrasse in English – because that’s exactly what they look like when swimming around in the frying oil.

When dropped into the hot oil they will sink to the bottom, but within a few seconds they puff up and rise to the top. It’s best to turn them halfway through with a wire spatula to ensure they cook evenly.

A few of these go a long way, but they are moreish. You can serve them as part of an antipasto or with a cheese board but they are best eaten within a few minutes of being fished out of the oil.