Cancì checi
Ladin fried potato-dough half-moons with spinach and ricotta
Cancì checi emerge from the oil golden at the edges and soft within. Potato makes the dough tender, a little yeast gives it lift, and a modest spoonful of greens and ricotta is enough to fill each half-moon. Their richness comes from the frying, not from an elaborate filling.
Val Badia has more than one kind of filled pasta. Where cancì blanc go into boiling water, these half-moons go into hot oil. The potato dough puffs around spinach and ricotta, making something closer to a small savory pastry than the ravioli its shape first suggests.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 125 gcooked, peeled floury potato, such as russet
- 250 gall-purpose flour, plus a little for rolling
- 6 g(2 tsp)instant yeast
- up to 75 ml(5 tbsp)whole milk, lukewarm
- 1large egg
- 5 g(about 1 tsp)sugar
- 4 g(about ¾ tsp)fine salt
For the filling and frying
- 250 gfresh spinach, stems trimmed
- 150 gwhole-milk ricotta, well drained
- 40 gyellow onion, finely chopped
- 15 g(1 tbsp)unsalted butter
- fine salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a small grating of nutmeg
- neutral frying oil, enough for a depth of about 4 cm (1½ inches)
Kitchen notes
- Potato dough
- Use a floury potato such as a russet and weigh 125 g after peeling and cooking. Mash it into the yeasted dough; this is neither a wrapper made from dehydrated potato flakes nor a standard egg-pasta sheet. Add the measured milk gradually, stopping once the dough is soft and can be rolled without smearing.
- Ricotta and spinach
- Drain the ricotta and squeeze the wilted spinach thoroughly. Excess water steams open the seams during frying. Potato-and-ricotta is another local filling.
Method
Make the potato dough
- If starting with a raw potato, simmer it until a knife slides through easily, then peel and weigh 125 g. Mash finely and let it cool until just warm. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add the potato and egg, then work in the lukewarm milk gradually, stopping if the dough becomes too soft to roll. Knead until smooth and only faintly tacky, about 8 minutes by hand. Add a little flour only if it cannot be handled. Cover and leave in a warm place for about 45 minutes, until visibly puffed but not necessarily doubled.
Cook and dry the filling
- Wilt the spinach in a covered pan with only the water clinging to its leaves. Drain, cool, and squeeze it very dry; chop it finely. Melt the butter in a small skillet, soften the onion over medium-low heat without browning, and let cool. Mix the spinach, onion, and drained ricotta with a restrained pinch of salt, pepper, and nutmeg. The filling should hold on a spoon without weeping.
Shape and rest
- Divide the dough in two. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece to about 4 mm (just over ⅛ inch) thick. Cut 7 cm (about 3-inch) rounds, rerolling scraps once. Put roughly 2 tsp filling in the center of each round, fold into a half-moon, press the edges firmly together, and crimp with a fork if needed. Keep the filling clear of the seam. Set the pieces on a floured tray, cover loosely, and rest in a warm place for 35–40 minutes, until slightly plumper.
Fry and serve
- Heat the oil in a heavy, deep pan to 350°F (175°C). Fry the half-moons in small batches, turning once, for about 4–5 minutes total, until evenly golden. Cut open one from the first batch: the dough at the thick seam should be cooked through and fluffy, with no raw band. Adjust the heat or timing for subsequent batches if needed; crowded, cool oil leaves the pastry greasy. Lift onto a rack or paper towels and serve immediately.