AUTHENTIC  ITALIAN  RECIPES

 FROM

 RISTORANTE  d'ANNAMARIA

Castagnaccio  (Chestnut Flour Migliaccio).

Migliaccio is a seasonal dessert that you see in Naples at the time of Carnevale (Mardi Gras)which occurs, of course just before lent, so enjoy while you can before you give up those sweets for lent.

Ingredients:

Chestnut flour               500grs. or about 1 pound                                                      

salt                                 a pinch

water                             750 ml. or about 3 cups

pine nuts                        1/4 cup

walnuts                          1/4 cup (optional)

raisins                            1/4 cup (optional)

rosemary                        a few leaves or a pinch if ground (optional)

Cooking oil                    2 tablespoons  

How to do it:

Take the chestnut flour (the dish will only be tasty if the chestnut flour is fresh and of good quality; if it is, it will smell of chestnuts); since it gets lumpy easily, sift it into a bowl.

Add a pinch of salt.

Slowly stir in the water to obtain a liquid batter.

Stir in a fist full of pine nuts.

Some cooks add chopped walnuts as well as pine nuts, others raisins too, and others also sprinkle in a few leaves of rosemary.

Now take an oven pan big enough so the Migliaccio batter will be about a finger and a half deep in it.

Lightly oil the pan, pour in the batter, and sprinkle two tablespoons of oil over it.

Bake it in a 375° oven for about 30 minutes, until it's firm and the top looks as crackled as the bottom of a dried pond.

You can also make fritters with this batter.

Let cool and serve with powdered confectioner's sugar sprinkled over the top.