Castagnaccio, the right dessert for autumn in Mugello
Each season has its dessert and each area of Italy has its local ingredients.
Mugello woods in autumn are red, orange and yellow and also are rich of chestnuts, in fact the typical dessert of these autumn days is the castagnaccio.
Poor ingredients for a tasty dessert!
Chestnuts are easily collected in the woods of Mugello, all you need is a trained eye and the desire to immerse yourself in nature.
Precisely because the raw material it’s easy to find in nature, their use is very ancient and a dessert with chestnut flour could not be missing in our tradition!
Castagnaccio recipe is for everyone
The Castagnaccio recipe is also suitable for less experienced cooks and the result is guaranteed, few ingredients are needed and the magic is done.
Not only is the price of the ingredients for the castagnaccio limited but it is also a gluten-free and milk-free dessert!
Ingredients:
- 250 grams of chestnut flour
- 50 grams of brown sugar (optional)
- 10 grams walnuts
- 20 grams pine nuts
- 20 grams raisins pine nuts
- 15 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 400 ml of water
- a sprig of rosemary
- a pinch of salt
Prepare an excellent castagnaccio in just 4 steps
1) To revive the raisins, just dip them in water
2) Sift the chestnut flour and slowly add water and extra virgin olive oil, taking care not to create lumps
3) Add pine nuts and squeezed raisins to the mixture
4) Grease the pan with extra virgin olive oil and pour the mixture which will then be garnished with rosemary, walnuts and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 40 minutes.
The first secret of a good castagnaccio is EVO Oil
The secret on which everyone agrees is only one: extra virgin olive oil.
In Tuscany, as is well known, we are very proud of our products which, even if simple, make all our dishes tasty and healthy.
And castagnaccio is certainly one of the most characteristic dishes of the tradition.
There are various recipe of Castagnaccio
In fact, every lady of Mugello has her own recipe that she has kept for generations.
For example, some do not like raisins and prefer to put only pine nuts and walnuts, others instead only put pine nuts and raisins without walnuts but in all recipes you cannot miss the abundance of good Tuscan extra virgin oil.
The second secret of a good castagnaccio is chestnut flour
If you want to be sure you are eating a good castagnaccio you have to choose a good chestnut flour.
There are many kinds on the market but our advice, when possible, is to choose local and stone-ground ones, just like in ancient times!
If you follow a gluten-free diet, some stone mills certify that they use a line of stone mills only for chestnuts in order not to risk any contamination with wheat flour.
The choice of ingredients is very important and the chestnut flour you find in Mugello is excellent!
The best time to eat chestnuts is now!
Autumn is the best time to eat chestnuts.
We at Villa Campestri are fond of it and we can’t wait to share a slice of Castagnaccio with our customers!
Castagnaccio is traditional and obviously is made with our Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
We are waiting for you at Villa Campestri the first Olive Oil Resort in the world!
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