Ingredients
300 grams (about 10-1/2 ounces) of flour
300 grams (about 10-1/2 ounces) of golden sugar
100 grams (about 3 1/2 ounces) of shelled walnuts
30 grams (about 1 2/3 ounces) candied orange
15 grams (about 1/2 ounce) of aniseed
5 grams (about 1/5 ounce) of spices and cinnamon powder
Flour for dusting
Original Italian Text
Farina, grammi 300.
Zucchero biondo, grammi 300.
Noci sgusciate, grammi 100.
Arancio candito, grammi 50.
Anaci, grammi 15.
Specie e cannella in polvere, grammi 5.
Directions
Chop the walnuts into pieces about the size of beans.
Dice the candied orange.
Put the sugar on the stove with a third of its weight in water, and when it has reached the point where it separates from the spoon, add all of the other ingredients and blend (Be very careful when you cook the sugar, because it will turn dark if it cooks too much).
Pour the hot mixture over the flour on a pastry board -- adding more flour to get the needed consistency.
Then form the cavalluci, making about 40.
Since the dough is quite sticky on account of the sugar, dust the cookies all over with flour.
Place in a baking pan and bake them at moderate heat.
Introductory Notes
The specialty desserts of Siena are panforte, ricciarelli, cavallucci and cupate. Cavallucci are little pastries shaped like mostaccioli, as seen in the following diagram [Oval-shaped diagram provided in original text]. You can tell that they have nothing to do with horses, and I don't think that they even know why they're called that in Siena, a city , as the saying goes, where three things are located: towers, bells and mountains. In this recipe I want to give you an approximation, rather than an exact imitation of Sinese cavalluci-- we've got the flavor just about right, but the consistency leaves something to be desired. When something is made with methods that are kept secret from the initiated, any attempt to duplicate is bound to falter.
Original Italian Text
I dolci speciali a Siena sono il panforte, i ricciarelli, i cavallucci e le cupate. I cavallucci sono pastine in forma di mostacciuoli della dimensione segnata qui sotto; quindo vedete che la figura di un cavallo non ci ha niente che fare, a perche sieno cosi chiamati credo non si sappia neanche a Siena di tre cose piena: di torri, di campane e di quintane.
Con questo ricetta intendo indicarvi il modo di poterli imitare, ma non di farli del tutto precisi, perche se nel sapore all'incirca ci siamo, la manipolazione lascia a desiderare, ed a cosa naturale. Dove si lavora in grande e con processi cohe sono un segreto ai profani, l'imitazione soppica sempre.
Farina, grammi 300.
Zucchero biondo, grammi 300.
Noci sgusciate, grammi 100.
Arancio candito, grammi 50.
Anaci, grammi 15.
Specie e cannella in polvere, grammi 5.
Le noci tritatele alla grossezza della veccia all'incirca.
L'arancio tagliatelo a dadettini.
Lo zucchero mettetelo al fuoco con un terzo del suo peso di acqua e quando e ridotto a cottura di filo gettate in esso tutti gli ingredienti, mescolate e versate il composto caldo
nella spianatoia sopra la farina per intrideria; ma per far questo vedrete chi vi occorrerh dell'altra farina, la quale serve a ridurre la pasta consistente. Formate allora i cavallucci, dei quali, con questa dose, ne otterrele oltre a 40, e siccome, a motivodella zucchero, questa pasta appiccica, spolverizzateli di farina alla superficie. Collocateli in una tegli e cuoceteli in bianco a moderato calore. State molto attenti alla cottura della zucchero, perche se cuoce troppo diventa scuro. Quando, prendendone una goccia tra il pollice e l'indice, comincia a filare, basta per questo uso.
Notes
The recipe in this entry was taken from "La Scienza in Cucina e L'Arte di Mangiar Bene manuale Pratico per le Famiglie" compilato da Pellegrino Artusi. The book was first published in 1891. Since then many Italian editions have been published. Olga Ragusa's selection of recipes from Pellegrino Artusi's famous cookbook, titled "The Italian Cook Book," can be found in its entirety at www.archive.org (It's free). The University of Toronto recently published a new English edition of Pellegrino Artusi's "Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well"; many of the recipes in this edition can be found at www.books.google.ca..... N.B. The "Cavallucci di Siena" shown in the photo in this entry was actually purchased in a pastry shop in the ever-beautiful city of Siena, Italy by Laura Ferri for Italy Revisited's webmaster, Mary Melfi. |
