Showing posts with label Almonds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Almonds. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Ricciarelli with a pistachio version - and my orange Christmas tree


Ricciarelli are delicious Italian (Tuscan) almond sweets, apparently originated in the XIV century.
Making them in New Zealand is quite special, as they really give Xmas an Italian flair. Bitter almonds are one of the ingredients though, and I have not found them here, so I add just a few apricot kernels (be careful, they are poisonous so you just need a tiny amount, and they MUST be blanched). Of course this is optional, you will get great results just with regular almonds. PLUS, this year I also made up a pistachio version - not ’traditional’ really, but they taste so good that I had to share the recipe (for both!)

200 gr of almonds
about 6 to 10 apricot kernels (optional)
200 gr of sugar
2 egg whites
zest of an orange or a tbsp of candied mix citrus peels
THEN
About 50g of ground almond for the traditional type, and 50 g of ground pistachio for the pistacchio version.
plenty of icing sugar to roll and dust

Blanch the almond and the apricot kernels separately in hot water and remove the skin.
Place them in the food processor with the sugar and grind to a powder. Do this in two lots, on pulse, making sure that the mixture doesn't heat or becomes a paste.

Lightly whip the egg whites, just gently, they don't have to be stiff like for a meringue, just starting to be white. Add the ground almonds and the orange zest or candid citrus peels. Mix well, divide into two and add the ground almond to one lot and the ground pistachio to the other, If it feels too soft add a little ground nuts. Cover and place in the fridge overnight.

The day after flour a board or working surface with icing sugar and roll the paste into thin rolls, about 2-3 cm thick. Cut and shape into biscuits, about 1.5-2 cm high. the traditional shape is like a grain of wheat, with two pointed ends.

Place on a oven tray lined with baking paper and sprinkle with more icing sugar. Bake at 150C for 15 minutes or until the edges start to be golden. Ricciarelli should not be overcooked! Let them cool down completely before removing them from the baking tray.



2023 Christmas tree was orange themed, in fact it was orange, sugar and spice (with sried orange slices, sugar and cinnamon decorations). 











Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©


 

Saturday, January 8, 2022

Ricciarelli di Siena, and homemade/recycled Christmas decorations


Ricciarelli are delicious Italian (Tuscan) almond sweets, apparently originated in the XIV century.
Making them in New Zealand is quite special, as they really give Xmas an Italian flair. Bitter almonds are one of the ingredients though, and I have not found them here, so I added just a few apricot kernels (be careful, they are poisonous so you just need a tiny amount, and they MUST be blanched). Of course this is optional, you will get great results just with regular almonds.

200 gr of almonds
about 6 to 10 apricot kernels
200 gr of sugar
2 egg whites
zest of an orange or a tbsp of candied mix citrus peels
Possibly some more ground almond if the mixture is too wet
plenty of icing sugar to roll and dust

Blanch the almond and the apricot kernels separately in hot water and remove the skin. 
Place them in the food processor with the sugar and grind to a powder. Do this in two lots, on pulse, making sure that the mixture doesn't heat or becomes a paste.

Lightly whip the egg whites, just gently, they don't have to be stiff like for a meringue, just starting to be white. Add the ground almonds and the orange zest or candied citrus peels. Mix well, if it feels too soft add a little ground almond. Cover and place in the fridge overnight.

The day after flour a board or working surface with icing sugar and roll the paste into thin rolls, about 2-3 cm thick. Cut and shape into biscuits, about 1.5-2 cm high. the traditional shape is like a grain of wheat, with two pointed ends. 

Place on a oven tray lined with baking paper and sprinkle with more icing sugar. Bake at 150C for 15 minutes or until the edges start to be golden. Ricciarelli should not be overcooked! Let them cool down completely before removing them from the baking tray. They keep well for a couple of weeks in a biscuits tin. 



All the decoration on this Xmas tree are homemade or recycled.


I recycled small bottles fro Italian fruit juices and crochet around them to make lights. I used recycled old wool for the crochet, and also made a few balls and little doilies. I foraged and painted the pine cones, and also spray painted some dried hydrangeas flowers. And then my usual sugar decorations, made with fondant, all white this year! Finally I recycled the crystal drops from a broken chandelier, they look classy on the tree!








 Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Marzipan with Amaretto

Assorted natural flavours and colours, including green tea, cherry syrup, berry juice, candied citrus,
and some stuffed dates too!

Last Sunday I did a demo about making Marzipan at the Auckland Art Gallery, to celebrate Italian Language week with the Dante Auckland. I have a basic recipe which I always follow (without egg white, thus suitable for Vegans too) and you can find it here. But since almonds don't have much taste in NZ (sorry... need to be said) I always add a few apricot kernels (not too much, they are poisonous!) so follow this recipe carefully! Now, apricots are not in season yet, and I made a little variation, which worked well: I added a little drop of Amaretto.



Marzapane with Amaretto

Ingredients
200g raw almonds
100g icing sugar
1 tsp Amaretto




Blanch the almonds in boiling water and remove the skins. Keep a few almonds aside for decoration, if you like, and ground the rest into a fine powder, almost like a paste. Add the icing sugar and Amaretto and mix until you get a dough. Shape into your favourite morsels, and colour with berries, green tea powder, spirulina, or anything you like. Some ideas for shapes and colours here.

Perfect for presents! Coloured with cocoa, green tea and berries
Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Gluten free almond shortbread biscuits - Biscottini al burro e mandorla senza glutine


Ingredients:
100 g ground almonds
100 g sugar
100 g butter (at room temperature)
50 g rice flour plus some for dusting
candied cherries (optional)

Mix all the ingredients and make into a dough, then make some small balls, walnut size, roll them in rice flour (otherwise you will get some flat biscuits when they bake in the oven) and place them on a oven tray lined with baking paper. If you like add a piece of candied cherry on top. Bake at 160° for about 20 minutes, but check the oven often as they can bake quickly (depending on size). Let them cool down completely and then enjoy. They keep well in a container, but if you want to store them for longer bake them a few minutes more.

And now the flowers from my garden (old photos, most of these flowers have gone now...)






Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Friday, June 26, 2015

Cioccolatini ripeni alla crema di pistacchio e mandorla- Chocolates filled with pistachio and almond cream


I have already made these using hazelnut (see recipe here), once again you just need two ingredients: dark chocolate and pistachio or almond cream from Italian Foodies.


Step 1
Melt the chocolate at bain Marie and line the chocolate moulds (I used silicone moulds). For each mould you will probably need about 1 or 2 tsp of chocolate, let it run to cover the bottom and sides of the moulds and then place the mould in the fridge IMMEDIATELY so that the chocolate sets quickly (you don't want it to roll down the sides and just fill the bottom of the moulds). Use only half of the chocolate, leave the rest in the bowl and keep warm (so it won't solidify). 



Step 2
After 15 or 20 remove the moulds from the fridge and fill with the nut paste, then cover with the remaining melted chocolate. Refrigerate.

Step 3
Before serving remove from ridge, tip the chocolates out of the moulds and serve. Better to store in the fridge if it is a hot day.



Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Raw, vegan, sugar free and gluten free chocolate truffles



Yes these are raw, vegan, sugar free and gluten free chocolate truffles, but what's more they are made using only 4 Fair Trade ingredients: Trade Aid Palestinian almonds, Trade Aid cinnamon, Trade Aid Madjoul dates, and Trade Aid baking cocoa,  plus one local ingredient, Hazelz hazelnut flour from Canterbury. There is no sugar, no dairy product, and no need for cooking. And although this is not a baking recipe I still like to propose it for The Big Fair Bake, although I may actually enter a proper baking recipe later on… time permitting :-).


I like using Fair Trade products because they are in line with the Slow Food principles of Good, Clean and Fair food. And with my philosophy. Furthermore the quality is really good! Take the Medjoul dates for example, they are so sweet and delicious, they can substitute sugar in many preparations. The baking cocoa is so good that you don't need to use it just for baking, it is perfect for puddings and hot chocolate too. The Palestinian almonds are different from my favourite Italian almonds, but they are quite unique, a bit spicy in fact. The cinnamon really aromatic, you need just a tiny bit, I like to say 'a hint' :-). And the hazelnut flour is what's keep everything together so nicely! 



Ingredients:

4 Trade Aid Madjoul dates
20 Trade Aid Palestinian almonds
50 ml water
1 hint (i.e. a tiny pinch) Trade Aid cinnamon
1 tbsp Trade Aid baking cocoa, plus more to dust
2 tbsp Hazelz hazelnut powder, plus more to dust

Makes 12 truffles

Remove the stone from the dates and break up in rough pieces. Place in a cup with the almonds and 50 ml of water. Wait for 30 minutes to let the fruit soften a little and then blend with an immersion blender. 
Add the cinnamon, cocoa and hazelnut powder and mix with a spoon. Shape into 12 balls and roll half in cocoa and half in hazelnut flour. The best way to do this is roll the truffles first in cocoa or hazelnut flour, and then pass them between the palms of your hands quickly a few times so that you will get an even coating, and not too much of it, just the right amount. No need to refrigerate, just let them dry a bit on a tray before piling them into a serving bowl or glass.






Sweet NZ image
I like to enter this post for Sweet New Zealand #36, the blogging event open to every one blogging in NZ, and all the Kiwi bloggers living overseas! This month of July is hosted by Libby at Ditch the Carbs. Click here to enter! Libby, I hope that this is your kind of sweet treat!! 





Please Support Fair Trade!




 Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©


Thursday, February 20, 2014

Special Fresh As Give Away for Sweet New Zealand, and amaretti macaroons.





Attention all food bloggers and friends of Sweet New Zealand:

Remember to enter your sweet recipes this month (info here - I am hosting so you will need to email me the entries) by February 27th and you will be in the draw to win two delicious packs of Fresh As products: Raspberry Powder and Strawberries slices. You can enter old recipes as long as you add the SNZ logo. You can enter as many times as you like, winners will be chosen with Random.org, so you just need to be lucky!



Amaretti Macarons 



After the marzipan here are some amaretti, also made using apricot kernels together with almonds. These are the perfect gluten free biscuits, maybe next time I will make them without blanching the almonds (for a darker colour) except for the apricot kernels: these must be blanched and skin removed as it is poisonous. I add apricot kernels because they taste and smell delicious, like Amaretto liqueur.

Ingredients:

200 g almonds
A few Apricot kernels (up to 20)
200 g raw sugar
3 egg whites


Blanch the almonds and apricot kernels in boiling water to remove the skins, then grind in a food processor with half of the sugar (100 g). Whip the egg white until foamy with the remaining sugar (adding one spoon at the time). Fold in the almonds. Spoon on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake at 100°C for an hour or until the bottom of the amaretti comes off easily from the baking paper. Let them dry for a night before eating. They last a long time (if you don't eat them first!).



Sweet NZ image

This recipe is for Sweet New Zealand #31, the blogging event open to all Kiwi bloggers (living in NZ or overseas) and expats blogging from NZ. I am the host for February, so if you like to enter a sweet recipe please contact me, or click here for the instructions. Also let me know if you are keen to be a host in 2014, and book a month!

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Raw, vegan and gluten free? Homemade marzipan




Yesterday I met Kate and Liz here and brought along some homemade marzipan. Note that this is RAW, VEGAN and GLUTEN FREE, so it seems to cover most of the current food trends :-). Click here to see the recipe and step by step images (including how to use apricot kernels). Note that for colouring this time I didn't use berry juice but Fresh As raspberry powder, and also quite a bit of spiraling powder for a darker green hue. The nuts on top are optional, of course.






Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©


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