One of Autumn’s most typical dishes in Tuscany is the “castagnaccio”, a cake made with chestnut flour, raisins, pine nuts, nuts and rosemary. Its story is linked to the city of Lucca, as Ortensio Lando wrote in his book “Commentario delle più notabili et mostruose cose d’Italia ed altri luoghi”(1553) that a certain Pilade da Lucca invented this recipe.
As well as being easy, this recipe is also very fast and it has a peculiar flavor, thanks to the sweetness of its flour. In Autumn, many popular celebrations and “sagre” are dedicated to chestnuts and castagnaccio: I suggest you to make a visit to “Castagne e Vino Novo” in San Gimignano (SI) on November 13th, 20th, 27th and December 8th, 9th, 10th (discover our vacation rentals in San Gimignano) or to “Festa della Castagna” in Lupinaia (LU) on November 13th (discover our vacation rentals in Lupinaia)!
INGREDIENTS:
◾ 300 g sweet chestnut flour
◾ 40 g shelled pine nuts
◾ 40 g shelled nuts
◾ 70 g raisins
◾ Rosemary
◾ Salt
◾ Olive Oil
1. Wash raisins over cold running water and leave them soaking for 10 minutes in a bowl with cold water to rehydrate them.
2. Sift the chestnut flour and put it in a large soup bowl, then gradually add cold water and blend with a whisk. In this way, you will obtain a semiliquid batter without lumps (you will need about half a liter of water).
3. Add two tablespoons of oil, a pinch of salt and softened raisins, then blend again. Slightly toast the pine nuts in a pan and add them to the dough alongside the nuts, setting aside a small quantity of them to be put over the cake’s surface.
4. Pour the dough in a baking pan (use a rectangular one) greased with oil. Its dimensions must consent to the castagnaccio to reach a one-finger height.
5. Sprinkle the surface with pine nuts, crushed nuts and some rosemary leaves: before baking it in a pre-heated 200° oven, cover it with a bit of oil (about 2 tablespoons).
6. The cooking will need 30 minutes. However, you can consider the castagnaccio ready when its surface becomes golden, crunchy and cracked.
