Zeppole di Natale (Scauratielli)

The story

Unlike the better-known zeppole di San Giuseppe, filled with cream and typical of March, the Christmas zeppole of Campania, known there as scauratielli, are simpler and more modest: a loop of eggless flour-and-water dough, scalded in the pot, fried until golden and coated in warm honey, often with a scattering of colored sprinkles. In Calabria and parts of Campania a savory version of yeasted dough is made as well, with anchovies worked into the dough, served as part of Christmas Eve dinner before the sweeter treats. Frying large quantities of dough in hot oil, usually outdoors because of the smell and smoke, was long a communal, almost public gathering in southern Italian neighborhoods. Neighbors would trade plates of zeppole over the fence or from doorstep to doorstep. That habit of exchange, more than the recipe itself, is what Italian Americans remember best when their parents or grandparents grew up in such neighborhoods before emigrating.