Sunday 8 January 2012

La Pioggia nel Pineto ( Dangerously Delicious Pine Nut Italian Biscotti and memories...)



Some of the "goodies" I made for Christmas: Cookies, English mince pies
and, bottom left: struffoli, from Campania (recipe to follow next month
when it's Carnival time in Italy, France and Spain!)


I will never forget the smell of pine trees, as I walked out school, as a little girl, in Italy. My school was opposite our Parrocchia (church) in the middle of a piazza. The only other building on the piazza (we called it "I giardini") was a little newsstands. It's  still there...
On the way home we would often stop outside and play. Inevitably, I would touch the trunk of one of the many old pine trees ( they are all still there, too...) and, inevitably, my fingers would get covered in resin... I remember it was so sticky, even more than honey, but the smell was "delicious" and I could smell it all the way home. I LOVE that smell!


Mediterranean Pine trees in Italy


I will never forget the day our mum gave us a huge pine cone and told my brother Mimmo and I, to look for the treasure inside... As we "peeled" the cone, little nuts, enclosed into a hard, powdery black case, jumped out. We cracked every single one of them, only to find precious, juicy little "pearls" that nature had made all by itself, for our delight.
I love the smell of pine! It was smell of Christmas, the smell of joy and of happiness the smell of small, precious gifts which make life so special and unique to each and every one of us.
Like my mum had done when I was little, my husband bought a gift of pine nuts... a whole huge bag of the precious pearls. I opened the bag and tasted just one: so soft, dense, nutty and enriched with memories of days past.

I won't lie: 800g was eaten by me, a little handful or two, each day. With each mouthful I would savour a taste of my childhood. The last 200 g, I used to make him his favourite cookies: Biscotti ai pinoli. And they were good!
So, here is my recipe:

Biscotti ai Pinoli
(Pine Nut Biscuits)
Ingredients:
(about 25 biscuits)
1 egg
60 (21/2 oz) cane sugar
220 (8 oz) flour
70 ml (about 3 fl oz) olive oil
200 ( 7 oz) pinoli (pine nuts-kernels)
zest of 1 lemon
1 bag Vanillina
or
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbs liquor (Limoncello, Marsala, Grand Marnier or whatever you fancy!)


Preheat oven (180 C, 350 F, Gas 4)

Place your flour onto a board or clean surface, make a well in the middle, add all the other ingredients, including your lovely pine kernels, and work into a soft dough.


 
This is my Bertolini Vanilla I "import" from Italy


With the help of a rolling pin, roll out the dough, then, using a round 5 cm (2'') cutter, start making your biscuits, by cutting out rounds about 1 cm thick.





1) my gorgeous pine nuts 2) My biscuit dough, ready to be "cut" 3) My biscotti are ready!
Place onto a previously greased and floured baking tray and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Make sure your biscuits don't burn, as they will taste bitter if they do.





I sprinkled icing sugar and lovely tiny pink sugar cubes all over my biscotti
This quantity made about 25 truly delicious biscuits ( I think!) They were very easy to make and looked gorgeous after I sprinkled some icing sugar and tiny little pink sugar cubes all over them! And they looked really "sexy!"


 ... with a nice cup of "Caffe` corretto" (That means it has Sambuca in it!)

23 comments:

  1. Hello my dear Anna, I'm your first reply today! I love the look of your biscuits but even more so, I'm pleased that you love pine trees. One of my happiest memories as a child was sitting in our garden under a huge pine, smelling the lovely scent and hearing it 'pop' in the sun! I think it was the flowers opening and today, when I think of it, the smell and sound takes me right back to my childhood. I collected some resin when out walking in a wood this winter just to have that lovely smell! Have a happy week, Jane xx

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  2. Lol at Sambuca inside your coffee!
    Happy New Year Anna!
    Michela x

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  3. You are so like me, Jane! Before Christmas I "collected" some pine resin off a wooden sun house, so I could close my eyes and go back to my childhood. The scent was really fantastic and evocative and I just love travelling back in time, to when I was a child...

    I love pine trees, Jane... I love all trees. Today I took photos of bare trees outside Blickling Hall... so beautifully dramatic!

    Happy week to you to, Jabe!

    ANNA
    xx

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  4. Michela... it's really really good! Try it! The combination is fantastic!

    BUONA SETTIMANA

    ANNA
    xx

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  5. Anna cara - These look very delicious and you made them with lot of love and care. I have many pine cones I collected in our many holidays in Tuscany. The boys used to collect the pines and of course we opened each one of them. The pine cones serve me as wintery decoration and to me they are such treasures! You are describing your relation to the pine trees so lovely! I guess it was hard to move away from it all. Buona serrata Christa PS. When I took the pics of the flowers I thought of you. I hoped the little sneak peek onto the street makes you happy...

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  6. Christa...

    You sent me a pine cone, in the box, with the lantern, remember? It spent the holiday in my mantlepiece and it's now in my Christmas box. It will probably come out every Christmas, to remind me of my friend in Switzerland. Is it a Swiss pine cone, or is it Italian, then?

    I love the view out of your windows... the buildings are reminiscent of Germany, and I really like that!

    It's always lovely to hear from you!

    CIAO!

    ANNA

    xx

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  7. Hello Anna,
    I love the pine nuts.. Up at my old farm house we have the Iberian pine trees..there we collect the pinenuts and the cones.. I have a big bag of the cones to start my fire and the nuts in a special jar.. I love to cook certain recipies with them. I only knew about them when i came to live in Portugal.
    Italy and Portugal as do Spain have many similar recipies..
    I love this blog Anna, remembering your childhood in Italy.. you must miss it very much.
    val

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  8. Hi Val,

    I hope you are able to post again, on your blog.

    When I first came to live in England, I lived in an old cottage and, coming from a big city, I had to learn a different lifestyle. I had a fireplace in every room and in the morning I had to light the fire. You can imagine, being a big city girl, I had so much to learn! I sometimes used pine cones to light the fire, and they made life easier, I must say! It was a cultural shock, to me, as at home we had central heating and I had never seen a piece of coal, or a donkey, or a pig in my entire life, and there I was, on a farm. My goodness me! But I think I would like it now... I have learnt to appreciate certain things.

    Val, I have only recently started making my pesto, using pine nuts, or mixed nuts or walnuts, and I love it!
    Search: Straccetti col mio pesto (Home made pasta with pesto) here on my blog, to check out my recipe (I don't seem to be able to post links from my blog!)

    I love hearing from you, Val!

    BUONA SERATA

    ANNA

    XX

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  9. Sweet biscotti and sweet memories and

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY

    ♥ Franka

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  10. Hi Franka!

    It's my birthday, today, yes... a year older!

    Thank you so much for wishing me a happy one!

    ANNA

    XX

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  11. Hello Anna

    Sorry for being late in coming to your party - I hope there is still some delicious Biscotti ai Pinoli left for me. I love the memory you create and the beauty and fruit of the pine tree - you have me pining for this nut (pun intended)
    Dear Anna wishing you a belated Happy Birthday and I hope you celebrate for at least a week. (My favourite brother Thomas also celebrates his brithday on Jan 10.)
    Hugs xx

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  12. Hi Helen!

    It's always lovely to hear from you and... you are not late, as... today's the day!

    We went out for lunch, but I'm cooking for everyone, tonight: Parmigiana, my chicken with potatoes, mini peppers stuffed with mozzarella and maybe some mushroom risotto!

    The pine nuts cookies are really delicious and that just reminded me I'm making a cake: yogurt ciambella with strawberries and cream.

    I see the world is full of lovely capricorns!

    LOTS OF LOVE

    ANNA

    XXX

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  13. Deares Anna,
    A belated Happy Birthday wish to you.. a special friend
    I love reading your blogs , they are full of life and there is a feeling of homliness about them. Your stories and recipies..
    I wish you the rest of a lovely happy birthday week.. its ok, to make it last.
    Molto bacci..amici..valeria..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Val,

      Thank you so much for everything. I am so glad you can perceive the feeling of homeliness which, I hope, permeates my blog, and that you enjoy reading my little stories. To me, it's just lovely to keep my memories alive by putting together recipes, images and feelings.

      Thank you again, Val!

      Hugs

      ANNA

      xx

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  14. Ciao Anna, I left a message for you yesterday on the post with the tomato salsa. Maybe you did not see it... Salve! Christa

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    Replies
    1. Ciao Christa! I just read your message, the one I missed... thank you very much for wishing me a Happy Birthday. I had a good day and a fantastic evening, though I had to do all the cooking! All the food was truly delicious... yum!

      Did you make the pasta? I'm sure it turned out really good, though you have not sent me the "evidence!"

      Ciao, Ciao, Christa!

      ANNA

      xx

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  15. Si, Anna! The dish with the roasted tomato sauce was a dream! I have also recommended to make it to other friends. It tasted not of this world!! I shall make it soon again. Have you seen my post of January 11? There are some words for you at the bottom... I hope your Sunday is relaxing. Here it is bitterly cold but very sunny! xxx Christa

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    Replies
    1. Dear Christa, did you remember to pour olive oil over your tomatoes before roasting? Here I am, sounding like my mother!

      Christa, I'm not having a good Sunday at all. I'm all in a twist inside and not feeling happy at all, but it will pass. I wish I were coming to your dinnar party, with plenty of laughs and Schnapps ( I hope I spelt it right.) Instead, I'm here, all on my own, and feeling rather abandoned...

      I saw your lovely post, Christa, and commented. Thank you so very much... you cheer me up, Christa!

      Have a lovely time with your lucky friends. You'll have to tell us what you cooked for them... I'm curious!

      Love

      ANNA

      XXX

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  16. Yes, I really want to try these!!! And those pine trees look very lovely! HAPPY late BIRTHDAY!!!!! Hope you had a wonderful day!

    Kristin :)

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    Replies
    1. Yes, Kristin, I had a fantastic day. My husband and my family love me very very much and they all really like to spoil me (and they did!) I am very lucky to have so much love in my life!

      Do try the cookies. They really are very nutty and delicious!

      CIAO!

      ANNA

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  17. Those cookies look the best Anna and as for cafe correto..mmm yes please! I love to hear the stories of your childhood too. Sorry I missed your birthday, belated birthday wishes. My husband's was on the 15th. Love Linda x

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the belated wishes, Linda. Do try these cookies. The pine nuts are really expensive, but delicious!

      So... you are married to a Capricorn! We are complex characters, us Capricorns!

      LOVE

      ANNA

      XX

      ANNA

      XX

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    2. Linda, thank you so much for the belated wishes and... try the cookies (expensive ingredient, pine nuts, but delicious!)

      LOVE

      ANNA

      XX

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