This post is dedicated to yet another recipe from Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well (1891). Unlike most cakes in this wonderful book that are partly made of almonds, torta di noci is a dense chocolate cake and might be thought of as the walnut, and less calorific, version of Sachertorte even though Artusi probably had no such idea. After all, the original recipe for the famous German cake was then unknown outside Sacher's family and the limited circle of his business associates. Most importantly, Pellegrino would never plagiarize from others and if he used a recipe from the international cuisine, he either called it by the author's name or labelled it according to its country of origin - real or estimated.
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| Edvard Munch - Still LIfe with Jar, Apple, Walnut and Coconut (1881) |
More than any other kind of nut, WALNUTS are labelled as superfood and they are wonderful to eat alone or simply drizzled with honey. Interestingly, German and Polish culinary vocabularies suggest that Central Europe was introduced to walnuts via Engand, France and Italy. That said, walnuts are featured in all of these cuisines much less often than almonds. Historically, they were considered a rare
delicacy but less versatile because of their distinct taste and flavor.
Walnuts also tend to be much more expensive than almonds, possibly due
to a greater amount of work needed for shelling them. For me, a walnut cake is typically as light
as a feather: the popular Mediterranean version is made with lots of
eggs (before it's drenched in syrup). Similarly, combinations of ground
walnuts, sugar and meringue are typically used as base for
layered cakes, such as Esterházy torta.
CHOCOLATE was brought to the Italian Peninsula from Spain after 1600. As in the rest of Europe, it was originally processed for drinking and Pellegrino Artusi featured a recipe for making a cup of hot chocolate in the Appendix of Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well. Desserts that were entirely or partly based on chocolate were introduced on both sides of the Atlantic when alkalized cocoa powder and baker's chocolate were developed in the 19th century. Although Italian chocolates and other chocolate-based sweet treats are nowadays famous, traditional Italian cuisine is not dominated by this ingredient. However, it does make (subtle) use of it, combined with favorite Mediterranean and/or specifically Italian dessert ingredients, like ricotta. This is particularly noted in regional cuisines of the Italian south as well as those of U.S. Italian immigrants. Pellegrino Artusi himself featured a decent number of recipes that were almost entirely based on chocolate, possibly influenced by similar desserts from European & American, cuisines: chocolate almond torte, a chocolate cake, chocolate icecream, a chocolate pudding, chocolate soufflé, and chocolate-dipped beignets. Chocolate was also featured in other recipes, including the walnut torte:
"637. TORTA DI NOCI
Noci sgusciate, grammi 140. Zucchero in polvere, grammi 140. Cioccolate in polvere or grattata, grammi 140. Cedro candito, grammi 20. Uova, n. 4. Odor di zucchero vanigliato. Pestate fini in un mortaio le noci insieme collo zucchero, poi versatele in un vaso per aggiungervi la cioccolata, l'odore della vaniglia, le uova, ponendo prima i rossi e poi le chiare montate, e per ultimo il candido tritato minutissimo. Prendete una teglia ove il dolce no riesca più alto di due dita, imburratela e cospargetela di pangratatto per cuocerla al forno or al forno da campagna a moderato calore. Dai miei commensali questo è stato giudicato un dolce squisito."
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