Casadielles – Asturian fried walnut and anise rolls

Set aside 10 g flour for dusting. Mix the remaining 250 g with the baking powder and salt. Rub 60 g softened butter into the flour. In another bowl, combine the wine and egg yolk, then add the flour mixture in 2–3 batches. Mix by hand just until you have a soft, smooth dough. Do not knead it for a long time as you would bread dough. Reserve the remaining 10 g butter for the filling.

Roll the dough into a small rectangle and fold it into thirds, like a letter. Roll and fold again, making 3 folds in total. If needed, use a little of the reserved 10 g flour. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour. Measuring the ingredients, mixing the dough, and folding will take about 20 minutes. Prepare the filling during the first 10 minutes of chilling.

Finely chop half the walnuts and finely grind the other half, stopping before they turn into a nut paste. Mix all the walnuts with 50 g sugar, the weighed anise liqueur, and the remaining 10 g softened butter. You will have a moist, grainy mixture that can be shaped into portions and does not spread. Use all the filling, dividing it into roughly 18 equal portions. Preparation takes about 10 minutes during the dough's chilling time.

After an hour of chilling, divide the dough into 3 pieces and cover those you are not yet working with. Dust the work surface sparingly with the remaining measured flour. Roll each piece into a rectangle about 30 × 20 cm, roughly 2 mm thick. Cut it into 6 squares about 10 × 10 cm; the whole batch will give you about 18 pieces. Press all the trimmings together, roll them out, and incorporate them into the next pieces of dough.

Place a portion of filling in a long strip near one edge of each square, leaving about 1 cm clear at both short ends. Lightly moisten the edges to be sealed with your finger, using the measured water. Cover the filling with the first third of the dough, then fold the last section over the top. Press both short ends firmly shut with a fork. Place the rolls seam down on a lightly floured cloth, using some of the measured dusting flour for it. Rolling and shaping take about 25 minutes in total. Start heating the olive oil toward the end.

Pour the olive oil into a deep saucepan about 18 cm in diameter; it should form a layer roughly 3 cm deep. Heat over moderate heat for about 5 minutes as you finish shaping. Hold the first roll on a slotted spoon and bring its edge to the oil: when steady small bubbles surround the dough without it darkening rapidly, gently lower it in. Fry 3 at a time for about 4–5 minutes, turning carefully, until evenly golden and crisp. If they brown quickly, lower the heat. Let the oil heat up again between batches. For 6 batches and short pauses, allow about 35 minutes.

Lift each batch out with a slotted spoon, hold it briefly over the saucepan, then transfer to paper towels. While the rolls are still warm, sprinkle them evenly with the reserved 30 g sugar. The first batches will cool while the next ones fry; leave the last batch for about 20 minutes, until the pastries are no longer hot. Divide everything into 6 servings of about 3 pastries. Allow about 2 hours and 40 minutes in total: 55 minutes of active work, 35 minutes of frying, and 70 minutes of separate waiting and cooling. Of the hour of dough chilling, 10 minutes are used to make the filling, and the olive oil heats as you finish shaping.