Welcome back. These days, we’re heading to communicate about Sicilian Nougat, or “Torrone” – ” Cubbarda e Minnulata”. This is an Italian dessert that is created with honey, sugar, sesame seeds, toasted almonds and orange or lemon zest. It is a incredibly delicious confection and is speedy and effortless to make. When effectively saved, the torrone will continue to keep for about 2 months.
A Minimal Background…
My analysis reveals that the cubbarda was introduced in Sicily by the Bizantines. Their title for this treat was “pastifeli”. Like so a lot of Italian desserts from Sicily, this nougat also has a identify provided to it by the Saracens, called “qubbayt” in Arabic. The almond nougat, Minnulata, is built all over the island of Sicily. It was at first produced with 100% honey as the sweetening agent but when the Saracens launched sugar to the island, section of the honey was replaced with sugar. This confection is extremely well known for the reason that it is effortless to make and normally takes only minutes to put together. The recipe that follows is a quite easy 1 and there is a variation to it as effectively.
The Recipe…
- 1 1/2 lbs. honey
- 1 1/2 lbs. granulated sugar
- 2 cups sesame seeds
- 1 cup toasted and crushed non salted pistachios and/or almonds
- zest of an orange
- A pinch of cinnamon
Generously oil a shallow pan or marble slab or counter surface area. The cooked nougat will be poured into or onto this.
Using a 3 quart saucepan, cook all components in excess of medium warmth, stirring constantly, until finally sugar caramelizes and the combination is a golden shade (approx 5 to 10 minutes).
Pour the cooked combination into the oiled pan or onto the oiled marble. Spread the combination in the pan till sleek and level making use of an oiled spatula.
Rapidly, cut the nougat into pieces 1 inch by 2 inch. Wrap and seal every piece in a piece of waxed paper. Keep the nougat parts in an air-restricted container.
The Variation…
Cook the nougat as instructed previously mentioned but when the nougat has caramelized and has turned the golden shade, decrease the heat and increase 3 cups of toasted non-salted almonds, zest of an orange and a pinch of cinnamon. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring continually. Finish the nougat the similar way as instructed higher than.
This Italian dessert can be organized and, if correctly wrapped and saved in an air-tight container, can be stored for about 2 months.
This dessert is one I have not tried as but. It appears yummy, however….huummm…I wonder if you could include chocolate? We may have yet a further variation listed here!
Appear on back again for a bit of a transform. The next couple of posts will be on bread puddings. My study has lead me to some intriguing historical past and recipes for bread pudding. I feel you are going to discover some of them pretty delicious. The heritage is very diverse as very well. Appear on again and we’ll switch gears.
Bon Appétit!