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1
Combine the raisins and grappa in a small bowl. Add enough warm water to cover if necessary. Leave for 30 minutes. The raisins are ready when visibly swollen and fully perfumed with grappa.
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2
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and leave until a light foam appears on the surface, indicating the yeast is active.
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3
Place the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the eggs, the yeast liquid, the lemon zest and the grappa drained from the raisins. Beat vigorously until the batter is smooth, cohesive and very soft — closer to a thick pourable batter than a kneadable dough. This softness is the foundation of the dish's hollow, airy interior; a firm dough at this stage means dense frittelle.
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4
Fold in the drained raisins and roughly half the pine nuts, distributing them evenly through the batter. Cover the bowl and leave in a warm place until the batter has doubled in volume and shows a domed, bubbly surface.
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5
Melt the lard in a deep, heavy pan and bring it to 170 °C, verified with a thermometer. This is the step on which the dish lives or dies: below 160 °C the frittelle absorb fat and emerge dense and oily; above 180 °C the exterior darkens before the hollow interior has set. Hold the temperature here throughout frying.
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6
Using two wet spoons, drop the batter in tablespoon-sized portions into the hot lard, no more than 4 to 5 at a time. As each frittella enters the oil, press a few of the reserved pine nuts into its surface before it sets. Fry, turning once, until each frittella is uniformly deep golden on all sides and has puffed to a light, rounded form. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent paper.
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7
Dust the frittelle heavily with icing sugar only at the moment of serving. The sugar dissolves into surface moisture within five minutes; any earlier dusting produces a wet paste rather than a powdered crust.