Tonda Gentile Romana from Cimini Mountains

Since I am living in Montefiascone, I’m interested in discovering local products and traditions. I have learned local recipes from the population, are you familiar with the old ladies you see on tv? That one. During these past months I have been so lucky to spent time with them. So, today I want to talk about a special hazelnut that grows only in this area and that is leading economy product together with grapes. The presence of the hazelnut trees, in particular of the Tonda Gentile Romana variety, dates back to ancient times. It seems that it existed before the Romans in the wild undergrowth. The cultivation of this type of hazelnut began in the fifteenth century, it seems that Rome’s Popes were very greedy about it. Their harvest can be either manual or mechanical, is carried out from mid-August to mid-November and the yield is between 28 and 50%. Hazelnut is a very caloric fruit, rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin K and minerals as potassium, calcium and phosphorus. The Monti Cimini’s hazelnut has a lower fat content than others and this is why it’s considered among the best quality on the market. Has carved out an excellent positioning in the confectionery industry for the preparation of chocolate and traditional sweets such as tozzetti from Viterbo and panpepato. Recently it has also found use in first courses and meat dishes. In pastry is used whole or chopped or transformed into a paste. It’s mostly used for the packaging of nougat, crunchy, pralines, hazelnut chocolate, ice-cream, fillings for chocolates and delicious spreadable cream, like Nutella. Now it’s time to turn on the oven, 180 Celsius degrees, (360 Fahrenheit degrees) and at the end you will have a wonderful smell of cookies in your kitchen.

Tozzetti from Montefiascone

Recipe
2 eggs
100 gr. of butter (7 Tablespoons)
300 gr. of sugar (8 Tablespoons)
touch of liqueur
Lemon zest
350 gr. of hazelnut (12 oz.)
150 of dark chocolate baking chips (5 oz.)
1 sachets of baking powder
500 gr. of plain flour (3 cups + 2 tbsp)

Directions

Whisk the eggs and sugar, melt the butter, then mix the flour, lemon zest, liqueur, baking powder and the butter you have melt before. Last of all the hazelnut and chocolate chips. Knead the mixture to male dough, roll it out and cut into 8 cm (3 inches) wide strips (If too sticky help yourself with a little bit of flour). Bake the strips in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius (360 Fahrenheit degrees) for about 10-12 min. Remove the baking tray from the oven and cut the strips crosswise into 1 cm (0,3 inches) wide slices. Put the tray back in the oven and bake the biscuits until they become light brown.
Enjoy
For any further information contact me on
stefaniamontalbano@carlozucchetti.it