The word Carnival derives from the Latin “carnem levare” and means precisely to take away the meat. This term was used to indicate the sumptuous meat banquet with which on Shrove Tuesday, the last day of Carnival, people used to say goodbye to meat, before the beginning of the abstinence period of Lent, which began the next day, with Ash Wednesday. And this is still the case today for all the dishes traditionally eaten on the evening of Shrove Tuesday that are based on this delicious ingredient.

Fregnaccia is the typical Roman fritter with an original flavor between sweet and savory that is enjoyed during the Carnival of Acquapendente and is prepared with some zampetto broth and topped with parmesan or pecorino romano cheese, sugar or chocolate.

Ingredients

For the broth:

2 pig’s trotters
1 onion
1 celery rib
1 carrot

For shenanigans:

300 g flour
600 ml broth
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 egg
Salt
Pepper
butter or lard
grated parmesan, pecorino or sugar

Process

for the broth: We bring plenty of water to a boil with the herbs and trotters and simmer them, skimming to remove impurities, for about two hours.

For the fregnacce: We take a container and pour water into it. We add the flour, stirring with a whisk rather quickly so that no lumps form. We add the defatted broth, egg, salt, a little bit of pepper and mix everything together. The mixture, which is called viuta, should have the consistency of a rather liquid batter and be quite savory to the palate. Let’s store it in the refrigerator for a few hours. After that let’s take the viuta again and in the meantime let’s heat a frying pan very well with a little butter or lard (about half a teaspoon for each fregnaccia) let’s pull up a ladle and pour it on the bottom of the pan, performing a quick rotary motion with our wrist to distribute the mixture well. When the fregnaccia pulls itself out of the pan we shake it vigorously. Finally we slide the fregnaccia onto a plate, season it with parmesan, pecorino or sugar and roll it on itself and enjoy it while still hot.

Fonte: Simona Stentella di La casa del coniglio bianco