Molise Calcioni (savory stuffed fritters)
frying oil
For pasta
400 g all-purpose flour
2 egg
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt
100 g lard
For the stuffing
400 g sheep ricotta
2 egg yolk
100 g ham
100 g Provolone cheese
1 Sprig of parsley
white pepper
salt
Mix in a tureen the Ricotta with the yolks, add the prosciutto and the roughly diced Provolone, put in the chopped parsley, adjust the salt and season with freshly ground pepper. Mix well and form into a homogemeous ball, solid to the touch.
Leave to rest in the bowl and meanwhile prepare the pastry, making a well in the flour on a cutting board and putting in the egg and a pinch of salt. Mix well (if it is too tough, add a little warm water). Using a rolling-pin, roll out a fairly thin sheet. On the sheet laid on the cutting board, arrange several little mounds of filling, the size of a large walnut, aboutĀ 2 inchesĀ from one another. Fill one sheet in this way, and then cover with the other one.
Using a pastry-cutting wheel, cut out the ācalcioniā , pressing the edges lightly with the fingers, to fill the empty spaces. Pour the oil into a cast-iron pan and, when it boils, fry the ācalcioniā in batches, until they are golden. Remove with a skimmer, drain on absorbent kitchen paper and serve piping hot.