Neapolitan fried salted or Nutella zeppole are a must have of my family.

Together with chocolate and mascarpone truffles , zeppole are part of the delicacies that my parents prepared for parties with friends.

These pancakes are easy to prepare and very versatile, they can be sprinkled with salt and enjoyed as an aperitif , or stuffed with cold cuts and cheeses to create a real zeppola party or for a picnic .

If you have never organized one, you absolutely must do it, your friends will be thrilled!

It will be an informal, tasty and fun dinner, especially if you prepare some zeppola to roll in sugar and then stuff with Nutella😊

Has your mouth watered? Then get the recipe

How to prepare Neapolitan fried salted zeppole or Nutella

To prepare the zeppole we will need a large pot.

First, pour a little warm water into the pan, crumble the yeast cube inside and mix until it dissolves completely.

We also pour in the salt and mix.

Let’s start adding a little flour at a time, alternating it with warm water.

Knead by hand until all the ingredients are finished.

The finished dough should be sticky and elastic.

Cover and leave to rise in the oven for an hour and a half.

After this time, we resume the dough, wet our hands with water and remove the dough from the edges, so that it deflates.

Cover and leave to rise for another hour.

Let’s heat the oil, when it is hot, wet our hands and take a piece of dough.

We spread the dough as if we were to form a pizza and fry it ( 1 ).

By spreading the dough we will avoid that the zeppola remains rubbery inside.

We turn the donuts while cooking at least a couple of times ( 2 ), so that they do not darken too much.

They must be gilded on both sides ( 3 ).

We place the cooked donuts on a container lined with absorbent paper ( 4 ).

We go up on both sides and serve.

Zeppola party in savory version:

Cut the salted donuts in half and fill one part with slices of mortadella and one part with provolone and salami.

For the sweet version with Nutella:

After putting the donuts on absorbent paper, cut them in half, without salting them on the surface.

Fill them with Nutella and pass them in granulated sugar.

We can also add a pinch of cinnamon to the sugar.

Anna’s Advice:

The oil temperature must be medium-high.

If too high, the donuts will roast on the outside but remain raw on the inside.

If we see that after placing them in the oil the donuts darken very quickly, it means that the oil temperature is too high, so let’s lower the flame a little.

Did you like this recipe?

Let us know … see you soon for a new delicacy on Fuori le Ricette !

And if you like, take a look at Paolone’s Youtube channel too … Thanks friends! 😉