Savory Zeppole: the recipe for the Neapolitan savory fritters

Savory zeppole are delicious, puffy Neapolitan fritters. Also known as zeppolelle, it is a very popular street food in this region you can enjoy as quick, tasty appetizer. Together with Italian potato croquettes (called panzarotti) they fill the typical Neapolitan cuoppo, a cone-shaped foil filled with any type of frying.

From the mixture of water, flour, salt and a little brewer’s yeast you get soft, puffy fritters. Zeppole are often enriched with algae, anchovies or zucchini flowers.

Savory Neapolitan Fritters Variants

Stuffed savory fritters

These savory fritters can be stuffed with salami, vegetables, or with cod or anchovies.

The procedure is simple, take a small amount of dough with a spoon, put the filling in the center, for example a piece of cooked ham or salami, a piece of provolone, and cover with another bit of dough, then slide in the oil. Fry the stuffed savory fritters and add salt before serving.

How to store Savory Zeppole

You can store these Neapolitan fritters at room temperature for a couple of days.

How to make Savory Zeppole

Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in warm water 1 and mix with a teaspoon.

Put the flour in a bowl, add the water in which you dissolved the yeast 2, mix by hand or with the help of a fork and add the salt.

Continue to mix until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough 3 and cover the bowl with cling film.

Let the dough rise until it has doubled in volume 4. Heat the oil in a high-sided pan.

Wait for the oil to be hot, take a part of the dough with a spoon 5 and help yourself with another spoon to slide it into the oil.

Fry the zeppole 6, a few at a time, turning them continuously, until a uniform browning is obtained.

Remove them from the oil and place them on a plate covered with absorbent paper 7.

Add salt when they are still hot and serve 8.