Panzerotti

Panzerotti is an Italian deep fried snack. A very simple to explain this is that they are very similar ot empanadas. These are Italian empanadas. These are deep fried stuffed semicircle pizza pockets . Panzerotti are stuffed with cheese and deep fried. Tomato, mozzarella, and basil is the classic combo and this recipe uses the traditional fresh tomato mozzarella and basil filling. Nowadays any filling can be used.  This tastes divine when served hot. By the way, this is a street food in Italy.

Stuffed?! Then you might think that this is calzone. Calzone and panzerotti differ. Panzerotti are small sized deep fried stuffed pizza whereas Calzone is a stuffed and baked pizza which is usually bigger in size than panzerotti.

 

When stuffing, do not get tempted to overfill. It will result in a disaster. The sealing off the edges would not happen and when frying that would result in disaster. This tastes amazing and we devoured it. Deep fried heaven :-). The dough is basically pizza dough and it was similar to our traditional bhatura. Also, this fried pizza is excellent like the Hungarian Langos. I followed this recipe from Saveur. These are snack sized anout 5-in., but mine is a little bit bigger by an inch or so.

This is a traditional recipe from Italy and I am sharing this for #Summergamesweek. All through the week we shared recipes and today is the final day of sharing recipes from chosen country/countries that are participating in Summer Olympics. Welcome to #SummerGamesWeek 2021 hosted by Amy from House of Nash Eats!  We are celebrating the start of the Tokyo Games with over 50 recipes representing more than 25 countries competing in the upcoming Summer Games! Come join me and my fellow Summer Games Week bloggers as we bring you recipes from appetizers to drinks to entrées and desserts!

Friday #SummerGamesWeek Recipes

Miso Salmon representing Japan by House of Nash Eats

Pizza Bites representing the USA by Simply Inspired Meals

Mango Sticky Rice representing Thailand by Devour Dinner

Tofu Katsu with Tonkatsu Sauce representing Japan by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks

Smoked Salmon Sushi Bowl representing Japan by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Teriyaki Chicken representing Japan by Palatable Pastime

Tomates Farcies representing France by That Recipe

Panzerotti representing Italy by Magical Ingredients

Crème Brûlée representing France by The Spiffy Cookie

Salmon Florentine representing Italy by Art of Natural Living

Ingredients 
Makes 12

For the dough

Bread flour - 3 and 1/4 cups
Salt 1.5 tsp
Sugar - 2tsp
Olive oil - 3 tbsp

Active dry yeast - 2and 1/4 tsp

For the filling

Fresh mozzarella- about 1 pound, diced small
Roma tomatoes - 4 or 2 and 1/2 cups, chopped
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Black pepper - 1/2 tsp, powdered or cracked
Olive oil - 1 tsp
Garlic - 2 cloves
Basil - 2 tbsp, thinly sliced 

Oil for deep frying, 3 cups

Method

Activate the year of using fry yeast with warm sugar water. Add this to a bowl with flour and salt. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and knead to a smooth dough. Apply a tablespoon of oil on the surface of the dough as well as the bowl. Cover for two hours to proof.

In the mean time, heat olive oil in a pan, add the whole garlic and chopped tomatoes and cook for about 15 minutes stirring now and then till most of the liquid evaporates.

Remove the garlic, add salt and pepper, and cook for a couple more minutes. Stir in chopped basil. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

After two hours, punch, knead, and chafe  the dough. Divide into 12 portions and roll into a ball. Cover and keep aside for an hour.

Take one ball of dough and roll into a 6-7 inch circle. Keep the tensing dough covered. Place one tablespoon of tomato mixture and about two tablespoons of chopped mozzarella chunks. Fold in half and seal the edges. Do not overfill as sealing would be impossible. Either pinch with hand or press using a fork to seal the edges. Repeat with the renaming dough.

Heat oil in a pan and when it is hot, fry the panzerotti till golden brown on both sides. Drain in paper towel.

Serve hot.