The mixture of cartellate generally consists of flo
ur, oil, sweet white wine and a pinch of salt, some
versions also puts some eggs and some of the wine c
an be replaced by water. In addition, the
mixture can also be flavored, some put a bit of liq
uor (such as aniseed), cinnamon or cloves.
I'll tell you an italian recipe offers a version of
orange and mandarin orange scented, lightly spiced
with cinnamon powder and cloves. The wine used is a
rosato of Salento, different from the classic
white wine that is generally used, it gives a darke
r color to the dough and gives it a certain aroma.
Before starting with the actual kneading is necessa
ry to proceed with the aromatization of extra
virgin olive oil, pour the oil in a saucepan and ad
d the orange peel and tangerine. Heat the oil until
the skins just begin to brown, then turn off the he
at and add the cloves and let stand a few minutesin
this way the oil will acquire a citrus scent with a
hint of cloves.
On the pastry place the flour, pour in the center t
he scented oil, remove the peel and cloves and mix
oil and flour by rubbing your hands until the mixtu
re is almost sandy. Rearrange the whole fountain,
add the cinnamon powder and a pinch of salt, pour a
little at a time before the wine and then the
water in the meantime with a fork, begin to mix the
ingredients as incorporating a little flour. Knead
for at least 10 minutes with your hands until the m
ixture is very smooth, homogeneous and elastic.
Let it sit for about an hour.
After the interval of rest, take a handful of dough
and pass it several times a roller pasta machine
thickness increased gradually reduce the thickness
to obtain a thin sheet. If you need let it dry a
little each layers.
Cut with a serrated blade wheel in strips about 3 c
m long and 35 cm, fold the strip in the direction
of greater length, pinch with your fingers to the l
eft end of the strip of dough and seal the edges,
continue to nip at regular intervals by scrolling t
he strip to the right every time and combining the
two edges of the strip, thus creating the compartme
nts.
Subsequently roll the strip on itself, as if it wer
e a girella, and then pinching joining the walls of
the
various rooms that are near. Continue like this unt
il it ends the streak. Finally, be a rose with the
characteristic shape of cartellate.
Fry in hot oil cartellate, before pointing upward,
then turn them over and brown them well on the
other side, then drain well from the oil and place
them on layers of paper towels.
With the leftover dough, you can also make other sh
apes, such as diamonds, or more generally,
maltagliati, which can be fried and served alongsid
e cartellate.
After the fry you can proceed with the dressing, or
rather with The frosting of cartellate with honey
or vincotto.
Put in a pot of honey or vincotto figs and let them
melt over low heat (often also slightly diluted
with water). Dip cartellate in the syrup that is fo
rmed so that it to soak completely and thereby
filling the compartments formed during the realizat
ion of the roses. Cartellate Remove from the
syrup and arrange on a serving dish.
Someone, rather than dip them completely in the syr
up of honey or vincotto, use put them directly
into a serving dish and pour over a little honey or
vincotto (we followed this procedure.) Another
way would be to not frosting at all cartellate but
sprinkle with powdered sugar.
If appreciated, you can add colored sprinkles over
cartellate much to revive the chromatically the
dish.

Cartellate (from the greek basket, basket) are rela
ted to the traditional Christmas sweets from
various regions of southern Italy, such as Basilica
ta, Calabria, Puglia, but above all.
In particular here, in Puglia, cartellate are prepa
red in each village and can take slightly different
names, carteddate in Bari, crustele in Foggia, cart
iddate in Salento. The tradition to dedicate himsel
f
to the preparation of this cake continues to exist
in the different towns and cities of Puglia, probab
ly
because this tradition is heavily engaged in the sp
irituality of Christmas.
Puglia is a place where even Christianity and cuisi
ne merge into one, often without the possibility
of separation. Cartellate are clearly an example, i
n fact the classic rose shape is attributed to a
religious symbolism and there are several versions
to explain the typical structure: some argue that
the shape evokes the aura of the Child Jesus or the
bands that bound it in time birth, others say that
instead the shape resembles the crown of thorns of
Jesus during the crucifixion.
Whatever religious significance that it confers on
the morphology of cartellate, one thing is
indisputable: they can not miss on the dinner table
s in homes in Apulia during the Christmas season.
The older women (but also the younger girls) in the
country are being hours and hours to perfect
the shape of those strips, cut with precision and w
ith skilled hands and innate skill achieve real
pieces of art.
Cartellate are cakes that can be kept for several d
ays, so they are prepared in large quantities all a
t
once and then eat in the various feast days from th
e day of Christmas Eve, Epiphany, otherwise they
are prepared ... again .... at home this year we ha
ve already made them twice.

Energy:    105    Kcal
ENERGY FROM PROTEINS:    7%   
ENERGY FROM FATS:    45%   
ENERGY FROM CARBOHYDRATES:    48%   
       
Dietary total fibre:    0,42 g
Alcohol:    0,40 g
Total proteins:    1,84 g
Animal proteins:    0,00 g
Vegetable proteins:    1,84 g
Total fats:    5,11 g
Animal fats:    0,00 g
Vegetable fats:        5,11 g
Cholesterol:    0,00 mg
Available carbohydrates:    13,10 g
Starch:      12,72 g
Soluble carbohydrates:    0,39 g