Pittule di Patate Leccesi

Ingredients

• 350 g floury potatoes (Agria or Russet), boiled, drained thoroughly, riced warm
• 700 g plain white flour
• 7 g dried active yeast, dissolved in warm water to form a slurry
• 350 ml warm water, used to form yeast slurry and hydrate dough
• 8 g fine sea salt
• For the stuffed version (optional)
• 50 g anchovy fillets in oil, drained
• 50 g sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 50 g black olives, pitted, roughly chopped
• For frying
• 1 litre neutral frying oil (sunflower or vegetable)

Method

1. 1
   Boil the potatoes in their skins until fully tender, so the skin acts as a barrier and the flesh absorbs as little water as possible during cooking. Drain and allow steam to escape for several minutes — no residual surface moisture should remain — then peel and rice the potatoes while still hot, so the starch releases in light, dry threads rather than compacting into a paste. The riced potato is ready when the crumb is dry and fluffy under light pressure.
2. 2
   Dissolve the yeast in a small portion of the warm water and allow it to stand until a distinct foam develops on the surface, so you know the culture is alive and vigorous before it enters the dough. A flat, listless surface after ten minutes means the yeast should be replaced.
3. 3
   Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl, add the warm riced potato, and work it briefly through the flour with the hands until the mixture resembles a rough crumble, so the fat and starch in the potato coat the flour particles evenly before any liquid is added. Pour in the yeast slurry and enough of the remaining warm water to bring the mixture to a soft, slack, sticky dough — it should not be kneaded to smoothness, so the gluten remains loose and the finished fritter stays pillowy rather than chewy. This is where the dish lives or dies: the potato must be warm and thoroughly riced, the ratio of potato to flour held at 1:2 by weight, and no excess moisture permitted to enter from wet or waxy potatoes, because a dough that is too wet will produce a greasy fritter, and one made with cold potato will ferment unpredictably.
4. 4
   Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and leave to ferment at room temperature for four hours, so the yeast works slowly and builds flavour as well as volume. The dough is ready when it has doubled in size, is very puffy, and the surface shows distinct bubbling.
5. 5
   For stuffed pittule, take a small portion of dough in oiled hands — oiling rather than flouring your hands so the dough stays moist and seals cleanly — flatten it, place a piece of anchovy, sun-dried tomato, or olive at the centre, and wrap the dough around the filling, pinching firmly to seal with no gaps, so the filling steams inside rather than leaking into the oil. For plain pittule, the dough is dropped directly from a spoon.
6. 6
   Heat the oil in a deep, heavy pan to 175°C; the lower temperature than all-flour pettole is necessary because the potato's natural sugars will cause the crust to colour and burn before the interior is cooked if the heat is too high. Drop the pittule into the oil in batches without crowding, so the oil temperature stays stable and each fritter fries rather than stews. They are ready when the exterior is an even deep golden brown on all sides.
7. 7
   Remove with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on absorbent paper. Serve immediately — the crust should crackle under light pressure, and the interior, when torn, reveals an open, pillowy crumb with a faint sweetness from the potato.