Pane e Cazzilli
Ask locals about traditional Palermo street food and Cazzilli will be high on the list. Also called Crocchè di Patate (potato croquettes), they are made from mashed potatoes, flavoured with pepper and mint and finally fried until golden and crispy.
Ingredients
- 750 g old starchy potatoes (I used Maris Piper)
- 30 g mint
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 tsp black pepper
- flakey salt for serving
- 1 lemon for serving
Instructions
- Add the potatoes to a sauce pan, cover them with cold water and season generously with salt. Bring it to a boil and cook the potatoes for 20-30 minutes or until knife tender. Drain them and leave them to cool until cold enough to handle, then peel them and set aside. You can roast the peels with a little olive oil and salt until crispy to avoid waste.
- Pick the mint leaves and finely chop them. Use a potato ricer or a fork to mash the potatoes in a large mixing bowl followed by the salt, a large pinch of black pepper and the mint. Then use your hands to work the mixture into a smooth dough until it begins to feel gluey, a sign that the starches are working.
- With wet hands, shape the dough into around 20 oval croquettes (around 30g each) and spread them out on a greased baking tray. Refrigerate them for 1 hour to firm up.
- Heat the oil to 170°C. Then fry 4-5 cazzilli at a time for around 4 minutes until they are golden brown. If they burst in the hot oil and spread apart, you can salvage the next ones by simply rolling them in a little bit of flour before frying. Place a few paper towels on a cooling rack. Once the cazzilli are cooked, let them drain off any excess oil on the paper towels.
- Pack 3-4 cazzilli into a bun and top with flakey salt and a drizzle of lemon juice.