Torrone Cubbarda E Minnulata – Sicilian Nougat
Welcome again. As we speak, we’ll discuss Sicilian Nougat, or “Torrone” – ” Cubbarda e Minnulata”. That is an Italian dessert that’s made with honey, sugar, sesame seeds, toasted almonds and orange or lemon zest. It’s a very tasty confection and is fast and straightforward to make. When correctly saved, the torrone will maintain for about 2 weeks.
A Little Historical past…
My analysis reveals that the cubbarda was launched in Sicily by the Bizantines. Their identify for this deal with was “pastifeli”. Like so many Italian desserts from Sicily, this nougat additionally has a reputation given to it by the Saracens, known as “qubbayt” in Arabic. The almond nougat, Minnulata, is made all around the island of Sicily. It was initially made with 100% honey because the sweetening agent however when the Saracens launched sugar to the island, a part of the honey was changed with sugar. This confection could be very standard as a result of it’s straightforward to make and takes solely minutes to organize. The recipe that follows is a reasonably easy one and there’s a variation to it as properly.
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 floor. The cooked nougat might be poured into or onto this.
Utilizing a 3 quart saucepan, prepare dinner all elements over medium warmth, stirring continuously, till 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. Unfold the combination within the pan till clean and stage utilizing an oiled spatula.
Rapidly, minimize the nougat into items 1 inch by 2 inch. Wrap and seal each bit in a chunk of waxed paper. Retailer the nougat items in an air-tight container.
The Variation…
Prepare dinner the nougat as instructed above however when the nougat has caramelized and has turned the golden shade, scale back the warmth and add 3 cups of toasted non-salted almonds, zest of an orange and a pinch of cinnamon. Prepare dinner for a further 2 minutes, stirring continuously. End the nougat the identical manner as instructed above.
This Italian dessert might be ready and, if correctly wrapped and saved in an air-tight container, might be stored for about 2 weeks.
This dessert is one I’ve not tried as but. It sounds yummy, although….huummm…I’m wondering in case you may add chocolate? We could have yet one more variation right here!
Come on again for a little bit of a change. The following few posts might be on bread puddings. My analysis has lead me to some fascinating historical past and recipes for bread pudding. I believe you may discover a few of them fairly tasty. The historical past is kind of different as properly. Come on again and we’ll change gears.
Bon Appétit!