Christmas cookies come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors, but it’s rare you’ll find ravioli in the mix in America. That is, unless you are at my nonna’s house. I grew up eating these interesting treats, thinking nothing of how unique they actually were. Regionally referred to in Italy as caggionetti, calzoncelli, or as my Neapolitan nonna calls them, calzungille, these sweet ravioli are filled with a hearty mixture of chestnuts, chickpeas, chocolate, citrus, spices, and a splash of booze for some added holiday cheer. Chestnuts were abundant in my nonna’s native Vallata, but her family was often too poor to afford the rest of the ingredients to make enough of them to feed their family of eleven. It wasn’t until she arrived in America that she was able to prepare them the way that she remembered, and I have been lucky enough to enjoy them ever since.
There are 5 tips and tricks that I recommend for optimal enjoyment of calzungille:
1. Be sure to close and seal all edges of each raviolo well with a fork:
This will prevent them from bursting open while frying.
2. Do not crowd the pot when frying them:
The ravioli will take longer to cook, and you risk them banging into each other and bursting open.
3. Be very careful not to break them while frying:
Use a gentle tool to flip the ravioli in the oil. You will know they are done when they are golden brown on both sides.
4. You must resist the urge to eat them hot:
Let them cool on a paper towel-lined plate. This gives the ravioli a chance to set up.
Bonus: They taste better the longer they set. Room temperature is ideal!
5. Right before serving, drizzle with honey:
This may sound excessive, but the sweetness of the honey balances out the savory and spicy complexities of the filling.
If you’re looking to spice up your usual holiday cookie bake with a flavorful, festive, and authentically Italian treat, follow these tips and give my nonna’s recipe a try!
Making cazungille with Nonna Filomena
Nonna Filomena’s Calzungille
Yields 60 ravioli
Ingredients:
For the dough
2 cups all purpose flour
4 tbsp. canola oil or other mild flavor oil
2 tbsp. sugar
2 eggs
1-3 tbsp. water if needed
For the filling
2 lb. chestnuts, outer shell removed
2 bay leaves
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ tsp. salt
1 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. cloves
1 orange, zested, ½ juice reserved
1/4 cup black coffee
1 splash Anisette (optional)
vegetable oil for frying
Cazungille filling ingredients
Method:
Combine flour, sugar, eggs, and canola oil in a mixer. Blend until well combined. Turn out onto a flat, floured surface and kneed until you have a firm, cohesive dough ball. Set aside.
Boil chestnuts for 45 minutes with bay leaves and salt. Drain and remove second skin from chestnuts. Add chestnuts and can of chickpeas to a food processor. Once mixed, add chocolate chips, cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, orange juice, and black coffee. Blend until well combined. The texture should be smooth but not too firm. If too firm, add more coffee or orange juice. Refrigerate.
Roll out the dough into a long, thin rectangular sheet (#5 if using a pasta machine). Add one tablespoon of the filling every few inches in rows, like you would with regular ravioli filling. With a knife or pasta roller, cut in between each spoonful of filling so that you have squares of dough. Fold dough over filling so that the ends meet and filling is completely covered. Pinch seams with a fork to seal ravioli.
Fill a deep pot with vegetable oil. Fry ravioli in batches for 3-4 mins until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towels and let cool. Serve drizzled with honey on top and enjoy!
Cazungille, sweet chestnut ravioli