Oreillettes—literally ‘little ears’—are Provence’s Carnival fritters, paper-thin sheets of dough scented with orange flower water, deep-fried until golden and shatteringly crisp, then dusted with icing sugar. They are Mardi Gras food par excellence, made throughout Provence in the days before Lent as a final indulgence of fat and sugar. The dough is deceptively simple: 500g flour, 3 eggs, 80g sugar, 80g melted butter (or olive oil in older recipes), 2 tablespoons of orange flower water, the grated zest of one lemon, and a pinch of salt. The mixture is kneaded briefly to a smooth, elastic dough, then rested for at least 2 hours under cling film—this rest is essential, as it relaxes the gluten and allows the dough to be rolled to extraordinary thinness without springing back. The rolling is the oreillette’s definitive technique: the dough must be rolled (or stretched by hand over floured fists, like strudel dough) until you can read a newspaper through it—typically 1mm or less. The translucent sheets are cut into large rectangles or diamond shapes, sometimes with a central slit through which one end is pulled to create a twisted, ear-like form. They are fried in clean oil at 170°C for 30-45 seconds per side—they puff dramatically and turn golden almost instantly. Drained on paper and dusted immediately with icing sugar, the oreillettes are eaten within hours of frying, when their crispness is at its most ethereal. They are stacked in towering pyramids on platters—a Provençal Carnival table may hold 200 or more.
Rest the dough for minimum 2 hours to relax gluten for extreme thinness. Roll or stretch to newspaper-transparency (1mm or thinner). Fry at exactly 170°C—too hot and they brown before crisping, too cool and they absorb oil. Fry for no more than 45 seconds per side—they cook almost instantly. Dust with icing sugar immediately while hot.
Add a tablespoon of rum or pastis to the dough for extra flavour and to help achieve thinness—the alcohol slightly inhibits gluten development. When stretching by hand (the traditional method), drape the dough over your floured fists and stretch by gently moving your fists apart, rotating the dough as you go—it should become translucent in 2-3 minutes of patient work. For a variation, scatter dried lavender buds on the rolled dough before cutting—they fry beautifully and add a uniquely Provençal note.
Rolling the dough too thick, producing a bready, chewy fritter instead of a crisp, shattering wafer. Not resting the dough, which makes it elastic and impossible to roll thin. Frying at too high a temperature, which browns the exterior before the interior crisps. Overcrowding the frying oil, which drops the temperature and produces greasy results. Storing for more than a few hours, as they lose their crispness rapidly.
La Cuisinière Provençale — J.-B. Reboul