Calabria / Cosenza
Chinulille
Fried pastries filled with chestnut and chocolate
These are fried half-moon pastries filled with sweet chestnut paste and a little chocolate.
Tested and written by Erika A. Cochran
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Prep
45 minutes
Cook
20 minutes
Serves
About 16
Difficulty
Moderate
Region
Calabria
What you’ll need
Ingredients
Written for About 16.
Showing quantities at 1× the original recipe.
- 3¼ cups plain flour
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup white wine
- 2⅔ tbsp olive oil
- 1¼ cups cooked chestnuts, puréed
- ⅓ cup sugar, for the filling
- 2⅛ oz dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Oil, for frying
- Sugar, to finish
At the stove
Instructions
Work the flour, eggs, sugar, wine and oil into a smooth dough and rest it for 30 minutes.
Mix the chestnut purée with the sugar, chocolate and cinnamon.
Roll the dough thin and cut discs about 3⅛ inches across.
Place filling on each, fold into half-moons and seal the edges firmly.
Fry in oil at 340°F for 2–3 minutes a side until golden and blistered.
Drain and roll in sugar while still warm.
Recipe notes
Some households bake rather than fry them; both are made.
Seal the edges well or the filling escapes into the oil.
Context
Chinulille (also called cuddrurieddri or chinuille depending on the town) are a documented Calabrian holiday pastry, with fillings that vary by household and season.
Sources: Editorial adaptation of documented Calabrian baking traditions, Casa Magnelli Kitchen
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