I taralli sugna and pepper are a must for theaperitif Neapolitan. The intense flavor and crunchiness of the almonds make it the perfect snack to accompany an excellent spritz or a beer fresh.

Taralli were born thanks to the inventiveness of the bakers of yesteryear, who as long as they did not throw anything away recycled the leftovers of leavened dough of bread, creating two strips joined together to form a circle. The dough was flavored with lard (lard) and pepper to make it spicy, and only later were almonds added. Soon this food began to be enjoyed by everyone, especially the most poor who could afford to cook or buy it as it involved the use of ingredients at low cost.

In Eighteenth century began to roam the streets the so-called "tarallari" with a basket on his shoulders filled with taralli to sell to passersby. There is also a song by Pino Daniele reminiscent Supplied Bisaccia, said Fortunato o' Tarallaro, who with his taralli cart went around the entire city. Even today at the busiest and most crowded spots there are little kiosks and vans offering taralli, soft drinks and snacks various.

The origins of the name

On the origin of the name there are different ideas: some believe it comes from the Latin word “torrère", i.e., toast, because of the way they are baked; others, however, from the French "toral" (dryer). Even more original is the hypothesis that it derives from the Italic word "tar", meaning "to wrap," in reference to the round shape obtained by knotting the two dough flaps.

The main outlets in Naples

There are many outlets in Naples where you can buy traditional taralli: among them the historic Tarallificio Leopoldo to Via Foria or the Taralleria Napoletana near San Gregorio Armeno: the latter offers an endless variety of taralli to choose from, from simple to special flavors. In the old area there is also Tarallificio Esposito at Sanità District, un piccolo forno a gestione familiare che produce anche “o’ pagnottiello“, una sorta di panuozzo fatto con l’impasto della pizza.

Un altro tarallificio storico è sicuramente quello di Poppella: generalmente conosciuto per i famosi snowflakes, in realtà Poppella possiede una sede vicina alla pasticceria, che continua a tramandare l’antica tradizione dei taralli.

Ricetta

Per preparare circa 20 taralli occorre:

  • 1/2 kg di farina
  • 150 gr di sugna
  • 1 dado di lievito
  • 100 gr di mandorle
  • sale e pepe (circa 5 cucchiaini di pepe e 10 g di sale)

Preparazione:

  1. Disporre sul piano di lavoro la farina creando un buco centrale dove aggiungere sugna, sale, molto pepe e il lievito precedentemente sciolto nell’acqua tiepida. 
  2. Amalgama bene il tutto e stacca dei pezzi di pasta; lavorali con le mani creando dei cordoni abbastanza grandi di circa 20 cm e inserisci all’interno dell’impasto le mandorle, intere o a pezzi a seconda della tua preferenza.
  3. Per ogni tarallo annoda i due cordoni schiacciando una delle due estremità su quella dell’altro schiacciando con il pollice.
  4. Dopo averli lasciati lievitare per circa un’ora inforna a 160° in modalità statica per circa un’ora, preferibilmente facendoli cuocere nel ripiano centrale del forno. Lasciali dorare e gustali una volta raffreddati.