P
Italian · Puglia, Bari
Carteddate Pugliesi al Vincotto
Spiral-shaped fried pastry from Puglia made by rolling thin pasta dough (flour, olive oil, white wine) into strips, pinching at intervals to form a rosette shape, then deep-frying until golden and drizzling with warm vincotto (cooked grape must reduced to a syrup) or honey. Carteddate are traditional Christmas pastry in Puglia — their laborious shaping reflects the festive context. The dough must be rolled thin enough to be translucent; if too thick, the spirals become doughy inside. The vincotto's tartness balances the oil richness of the fried dough.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the dough
500 g
plain flour (tipo 00)
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
60 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
Your own market
120 ml
dry white wine
at room temperature
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 ml
anise liqueur (Sambuca)
optional; traditional in Bari province families
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For frying
1 litre
olive oil
for deep-frying
Your own market
For finishing
250 ml
vincotto
grape-must syrup; fig vincotto may be substituted
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 g
icing sugar
for dusting; optional
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Combine the flour, olive oil, white wine, and Sambuca (if using) in a bowl. Work the mixture until a smooth, cohesive dough forms. Wrap and rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. The dough is ready when it yields easily under a finger without springing back.
2
Roll the dough in successive passes through a pasta machine or with a rolling pin until it reaches 1–2 mm maximum. Hold the sheet to the light: this is where the dish lives or dies — the sheet must be translucent. Any opacity means the dough is too thick and the spirals will be doughy at their centres after frying.
3
Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut the sheet into strips approximately 3 cm wide. The serrated edges increase the surface area that will later hold the vincotto.
4
Beginning at one end of each strip, pinch the dough at regular intervals — every 3–4 cm — drawing each pinched point toward the centre to form a ruched channel. Roll the strip from one end, tightening slightly as you go, to produce a compact rosette. Set the formed carteddate on a lightly floured tray. The finished rosette should be firm enough to hold its shape when lifted but not so tightly wound that the centre layers are sealed shut.
5
Heat the olive oil in a wide, deep vessel to 170–175°C. Fry the carteddate in small batches — no more than four or five at a time — to maintain temperature. Fry, turning once, until the spirals are an even deep gold. Remove with a spider or slotted spoon and drain on a rack. They are done when the colour is uniform and the surface has stiffened audibly when tapped.
6
Warm the vincotto in a small saucepan to 50–60°C — it should be fluid and fragrant but not boiling. While the carteddate are still warm, drizzle the vincotto generously over them. Cold pastry will not absorb the syrup; the tartness of the vincotto should be perceptible against the oil richness of the dough. Dust with icing sugar if desired.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Dough made with a single-estate Puglian extra-virgin olive oil of low acidity; vincotto sourced from a small producer using Primitivo or Negroamaro must reduced by long, slow cooking; fig vincotto of comparable artisan provenance for variation.
02
Estate — A good dry white wine with genuine acidity in the dough — Verdeca or Fiano. Commercial vincotto from a named Puglian producer. Tipo 00 flour milled for pasta.
03
Market — Any light, dry white wine. Supermarket vincotto or a dense grape-must reduction from a reliable Italian delicatessen. Standard tipo 00 or plain flour.
04
House — Neutral vegetable oil substituted for part of the olive oil in the dough; honey used in place of vincotto, warmed before application. Acceptable for an everyday batch but the tartness that defines the dish is absent.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The rolled dough sheet is translucent when held to a light source — 1–2 mm, no more.
◇Sight. Fried carteddate are an even deep gold with no pale or raw-looking patches between the spiral layers.
◇Sound. The surface of a drained carteddata emits a faint crackle when tapped lightly — the crust has set.
◇Smell. Warm vincotto is fragrant and fluid at 50–60°C, its grape-must aroma clearly present before it is drizzled.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dough sheet must be rolled to translucency — 1–2 mm at most — or the spirals will be doughy at their centres and the pastry is lost.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Agave spirit
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year