The Garfagnana, a mountainous area in the north-west of Tuscany, is noted for its thick chestnut forests and fields of farro (or spelt, an ancient grain that was grown in Roman times). This has given the Garfagnana a distinctive culinary tradition - there is meat made from pigs fattened on chestnuts, hearty soup made with spelt, gorgeous Garfagnana porcini mushrooms and chestnut flour which is used to make bread.
Desserts from the Garfagnana
Spelt and chestnut flour are also used to make a delicious variety of desserts and cakes - if you're travelling in the region look out for ‘neccio’ and ‘castagnaccio’, which are chestnut cakes and ‘torta di farro’ - spelt cake. The walled mediaeval town of Lucca is essentially the gateway to the Garfagnana - and a lovely place to spend a long weekend. It was the birthplace of the famous composer Giacomo Puccini, who was born there 150 years ago in 1858. His former home is now a museum. It’s currently being renovated but should reopen in 2009.
Puccini Anniversary
One of the best restaurants in Lucca is Buca di Sant Antonio (via della Cervia 3, T 0583 55881) which dates back to 1782 and is a good place to sample some of the specialities of the Garfagnana. It was one of Puccini's favourite restaurants and this year, to celebrate the maestro's birth, they are presenting some of their customers with an anniversary book on Puccini by Daniele Rubboli. The book contains some of Buca di Sant Antonio's recipes which they feel that Puccini would have appreciated. Here (with permission) is their recipe for traditional Castagnaccio (chestnut cake).
Recipe
Ingredients - for six people
- 400 g sweet chestnut flour
- 50 g peeled pine nuts
- 6 nuts (e.g. hazelnuts or almonds) cracked into small pieces
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
- Peel of one orange, finely sliced
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- A pinch of salt
Method
- Use some of the olive oil to oil a baking tin. Sieve the chestnut flour, and pour it into a large mixing bowl. Add a pinch of salt, the orange peel and half a litre of water. Stir well into a fine liquid batter (make sure there are no lumps at all). Add the rest of the olive oil.
- Pour the mixture into an oiled baking tin: make sure that the mixture is around 1 cm thick.Add the rosemary leaves, pine nuts and cracked nuts.
- Bake in a hot oven at 150° C for about 45 minutes. The mixture won't really rise, so don't worry. You can now eat the chestnut cake by itself or with ice cream.
 |
