Sciatt
How do you make Sciatt (buckwheat fritters)?
Prepare a thin batter by mixing wheat and buckwheat flours with cold beer, sparkling water, and grappa. Refrigerate the batter. Dip cheese cubes into the cold batter and immediately fry them in hot oil at 170°C until golden. Serve the hot fritters over a dressed cabbage salad.
Sciatt, or “toads” in dialect, are a delicious specialty from the land that adopted me 15 years ago: Valtellina in Northern Italy. They are named for the shape they take as they cook; they are truly easy to make, and the flavor they give us is priceless. They are made with local ingredients, starting with buckwheat flour; the liquor is grappa, strong yet delicate in flavor; and the cheese is called Casera, a typical semi-hard cheese. So this is also an invitation to visit the area and take home local products as souvenirs. The secret to perfect sciatt is the play of temperatures in the ingredients, both before cooking and during preparation. If we want to make them at home and do not have the typical local ingredients, we can use what we have available, such as semi-hard cheese, and the grappa can be omitted.
The screen will not turn off while you cook.
Servings: For 40-45 sciatt
Ingredients
- If we want to make them at home and do not have the typical local ingredients, we can use what we have available, such as semi-hard cheese, and the grappa can be omitted.
- 150 g 00 flour
- 100 g buckwheat flour
- 250 ml very cold pale beer
- 70 ml very cold sparkling water
- 20 ml grappa liqueur (can be omitted)
- 15 g fine salt
- 200 g Casera-style cheese or another semi-hard cheese
- 100 g kale, regular cabbage, or a slightly bitter salad green
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 liter peanut oil
Instructions
The first step is to make the batter that will coat the cheese before frying. In a large bowl, sift both the 00 flour and the buckwheat flour.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
Pour in the very cold beer.
Also pour in almost all of the very cold sparkling water, but not all of it; if we see that we need more, we will add it.
Add the grappa.
Mix very well until you have a smooth batter.
The consistency of the batter should be somewhere between liquid and thick.
Let the batter rest in the refrigerator while you prepare the cheese and the little salad. Remove the hardest part.
Cut it into cubes that are not too small, about 2-2.5 cm. Set aside.
Wash and dry the kale or cabbage well, then slice it finely. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mix the 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the 2 tablespoons of vinegar, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Mix well.
Mix the dressing with the kale or cabbage and let the flavors blend well. Set aside.
Place the oil in a medium pot and start heating it. Remove the batter from the refrigerator. Meanwhile, place the cheese pieces into the batter and stir them well so they are fully coated.
When the oil has reached the right frying temperature (a kitchen thermometer would be ideal: 170°C; otherwise, when small bubbles rise from the bottom toward the middle of the pot), use two spoons to remove the cheese cubes one by one. Drain them slightly, but not too much, and place them in the pot to fry. Turn them gently when one side is golden; each one takes about 50 seconds.
Do not add more than 4-5 cheese cubes at a time, so they cook properly and you can keep an eye on each one to prevent burning.
The success of the recipe lies in the hot oil and the cold batter. Continue until all the cheese cubes are used. When you open one, you will notice the crispy outside and the soft, melted cheese center.
Serve very hot, placing a bed of salad underneath and the sciatt on top.
Enjoy your meal!
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.
- If we want to make them at home and do not have the typical local ingredients, we can use what we have available, such as semi-hard cheese, and the grappa can be omitted.
- 150 g 00 flour
- 100 g buckwheat flour
- 250 ml very cold pale beer
- 70 ml very cold sparkling water
- 20 ml grappa liqueur (can be omitted)
- 15 g fine salt
- 200 g Casera-style cheese or another semi-hard cheese
- 100 g kale, regular cabbage, or a slightly bitter salad green
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 liter peanut oil