Chiacchiere (Italian Carnival Fried Pastry Ribbons)
Crisp, blistered ribbons of lightly sweet fried pastry dusted with icing sugar, the Italian carnival treat.
Made with Fresh egg pasta dough. Make a batch of the base first, then this takes minutes. Skip to the method
- Time1 hr 15
- LevelMedium
- Costabout £0.41 a head
Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.
Ingredients
Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.
Method
- 1
Knead the caster sugar, orange zest and vinegar into your ready made fresh egg pasta dough (see the base recipe) for 2 minutes until evenly mixed and smooth. Wrap and rest for 30 minutes.
30 min - 2
Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each very thin, to about 1 mm, on a lightly floured surface or through a pasta machine, finishing on the second thinnest setting.
- 3
Cut the sheets into ribbons about 4 cm wide and 12 cm long with a fluted pastry wheel. Make a short slit in the middle of each and, if you like, pull one end through the slit to make a loose knot.
- 4
Pour the oil into a deep, heavy pan to a depth of 5 cm only, filling it no more than a third. Heat to 170 degrees on a cooking thermometer, or until a scrap of dough sizzles and rises in about 10 seconds.
- 5
Fry the ribbons 3 or 4 at a time for 40 to 60 seconds, turning once, until pale gold and blistered. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
1 min - 6
Cool for 5 minutes, then dust generously with icing sugar. Eat the same day.
Tips
- Roll the dough as thin as you can. The blisters and the shatter crisp texture only come from very thin pastry.
- Keep the oil at 170 degrees. Cooler oil makes greasy chiacchiere and hotter oil browns them before they cook through.
- Never leave hot oil unattended and keep a lid or damp tea towel nearby in case of a fire.
Storing and freezing
Best eaten the day they are made. Store cooled, undusted chiacchiere in an airtight tin for up to 3 days and dust with icing sugar just before serving. They do not freeze well.
Questions
What are chiacchiere called elsewhere in Italy?
They go by many regional names, including frappe in Rome, bugie in Piedmont and Liguria, cenci in Tuscany and crostoli in the north east. All are fried carnival pastry ribbons.
Can I bake them instead?
Yes, though they are less blistered and more like crisp biscuits. Bake at 200C (180C fan) for 8 to 10 minutes until golden, brushing lightly with oil first.
Why a spoonful of vinegar?
A little acid relaxes the dough so it rolls thinner and helps the surface blister in the hot oil. You cannot taste it in the finished chiacchiere.
More made with fresh egg pasta dough
Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.