Chestnut Crunch
Chestnut Crunch (Croccanti di Marroni
Posted by FootsieBear at recipegoldmine
com 10/2/2001 3:13 pm
Source: Italian Library
Something rather different, and not baked — this recipe was published by Giovanni Vialardi in 1854, and derives from the mountains of Cuneo and the Val di Susa in Piemonte, where chestnuts were a staple winter food
The marrone (marron, for the French) is larger, much more highly valued than the regular chestnut
2 1/4 pounds marroni
1/2 cup sweet butter
3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1/4 pound amaretti, crushed
2 ozs raisins
3 eggs, separated (save the whites for something else)
1/2 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
Bread crumbs for dredging
Grated lemon zest
Olive oil for frying
1 egg
Salt
Boil the chestnuts until tender, then peel them, and press the nut meats through a strainer (you can also use a food mill with a fine-holed disk; were you to use a blender the texture would be different)
Combine the mashed chestnuts, cinnamon, butter, a half cup of sugar, cream, amaretti, three yolks, the raisins and a pinch of salt together in a bowl; the mixture will be stiff
Spread it on your work surface to a thickness of about 3/4 of an inch (2 cm) and let it cool
In the meantime, grate the zest of a lemon and mix it into the remaining sugar
Beat the remaining egg, and heat the oil for frying
Cut the chestnut mixture into 1-inch x 1-inch diamonds, roll them in the bread crumbs, dredge them in the egg, roll them again the bread crumbs, and fry them until golden brown
Drain the pastries on absorbent paper and dust them with the sugar and lemon zest mixture
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