Covid-19 lockdown recipe 2: Mont Blanc with chestnut cream and chickpeas

The lockdown for me is a chance to clean up the pantry, instead of concentrating in stocking up with too much food. I always have a full pantry anyway, one of the advantages of leaving a bit out of town perhaps, but also many bags a quarter full that beg to be finished, or cans of food kept in the emergency kit which need rotating anyway. I found a can of sweet chestnut spread which I bought ages ago, I usually combine it with fresh chestnuts or canned chestnuts (not sweet) but I had none. I have plenty of chickpea cans though, and chickpeas are good for making desserts too! Mont Blanc, or Monte Bianco, is one of my favourite desserts, Mum used to make it a lot when I was a child because we have a chestnut wood in Italy, and the nuts were our staple all winter long. 

Drain the chickpeas and keep the water aside. This can be used to make vegan meringues (recipe here), or vegan fresh pasta (recipe here), or many other recipes. Then rinse the chickpeas under running water and mush them with the nutri-bullet (not as fine like hummus, leave a little 'texture'. Combine with the chestnut spread and some grated dark chocolate (to taste). The chestnut spread is soo sweet that you won't need to add any sugar.

Mix well, then whip 300 ml of cream and add half to the mixture, one spoon at the time.

Vegans can use coconut cream, like in this recipe here!

Fold the cream in slowly, trying to keep the mixture light.

Like this.

Now spoon the mixture over a plate and shape like a mountain.

Cover with the remaining cream,

Top with more grated dark chocolate,

And decorate, if you like. I used my last blueberries and the first Cape Gooseberries from the garden, and some candied Poppies (recipe here).

Refrigerate for a few hours before serving. Delicious, lots of proteins, gluten free and no cooking required, and no guessing that there are chickpeas there!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

The best Italian Vegan fritters are...

… chestnut fritters! And you only need three ingredients: Italian chestnut flour (which is naturally sweet so you don't need to add sugar), sultana (optional, but traditional!) and oil for frying! These are full of protein, gluten free, and perfect for breakfast, or snack, hot or cold. I love them after a gym workout and the kids like to put them in their lunch boxes. They are very filling, plus they last a few days, if you don't eat them all at once!

Mix the chestnut flour with enough water to make a batter (same consistency as hot cakes), add the sultana.

 Drop full spoons of batter in the hot oil and fry on both sides until nice and brown.

Drain excess oil with kitchen paper

Enjoy! 

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Vegan Monte Bianco

This is my home recipe for a Vegan Monte Bianco so easy, (plus no cooking required) and one of my favourite desserts. Chestnuts are in my DNA, as they were the staple food of my ancestors, and mine to when I was little (we still have a chestnut wood in Italy). They are naturally sweet, low in fat and high in protein, but they are so difficult to find in NZ (please write to me if you have some!!). The original recipe calls for cream, but it seems that coconut cream goes really well with chestnuts too! Here are the ingredients:

1x 400ml can coconut cream, refrigerated for at least one day

1 drop vanilla

1 tbsp sugar

1 x439g Clement Faugier chestnut puree

1x 250g Clement Faugier Sweet chestnut spread

Dark chocolate to grate (I used dark vegan Mexican chocolate)

You can add a few drops of rum or Frangelico if you like.

Scoop the coconut cream out of the tin (leave the water at the bottom) and beat until soft and foamy. Add sugar and vanilla. Set aside. Beat the two chestnut purees together (I added the coconut water to make them softer). Add some grated chocolate (about 2-3 tbsp, or to taste) and if you like a little alcohol. Spoon the chestnut mixture over a plate and shape like a peak. Then cover with the coconut cream.

Grate some more chocolate on top and refrigerate until serving. 

Well, your Vegan and non-vegan friends  alike will be surely impressed: this is sooooo good, full of proteins, and gluten free too!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Gluten free, fat free, sugar free, vegan chestnut and cocoa cakes

Well, mini cakes, heart shaped for Mother's Day. I used one cup of chestnut flour, 2 tsp cocoa, a few sultanas and enough water to make a batter. I poured the batter in silicone moulds and baked for about 20 minutes (until a toothpick came out clean). Very yummy, incredibly filling, and healthy too.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Frittelle di castagne

This was my last batch of chestnut flour (pity!) and I made the chestnut fritters that I always ate as a child in Italy. When I say always I mean every week in Autumn and Winter (and sometimes every day), I ate so many that for many years I didn't miss them, but now they are a special treat, as I need to source the flour in Italy!

The best thing about these fritters is that chestnut flour is naturally sweet, so no sugar is needed. Also these are vegan and gluten free, all you need is chestnut flour, water, sultana (optional) and some oil for frying. You can find the recipe here, if you can get some chestnut flour, that is :-). And if you do find it in New Zealand, please let me know!!

Photos and Recipe by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Castagnaccio: the easiest cake ever for Sweet New Zealand???

This month Sweet New Zealand is hosted by Arfi of HomeMadeS (click here to enter), and because Arfi is gluten free I am offering a typical Italian treat from my childhood: castagnaccio.

First of all I have to inform you that I was raised on chestnuts, and chestnut flour. We made many things with the flour, mostly fritters (you can find the recipe here) and castagnaccio. There are so many versions of castagnaccio, the main being just chestnut flour and water, with a pinch of salt (optional) and a sprig of rosemary on the top. The best thing is that chestnut flour is naturally sweet, and that you just need water to mix it, making it the perfect low fat (chestnuts are the only low fat nuts) high protein, gluten free and vegan treat!

I mixed chestnut flour with enough water to make a batter, and this time I added 2 tbsp of cocoa (cocoa also go well with chestnuts) and a very small pinch of salt. No sugar needed. Pour the batter into a large baking pan lined with baking paper and bake everything at 180°C until the cake is ready (about 20 minutes, check with a toothpick). Let it cool down before serving. Unfortunately I forgot to take the photo on the first day, so this was the morning after and the top of the castagnaccio had cracked like a dry desert... but it was still great for breakfast :-).

Photos and Recipe by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Christmas Baking

Busy today, tomorrow I have a photo shoot so I don't have much time for posting. Here are some recipes from last Xmas: the first, pictured above, is a Mont Blanc Mille-Feuille, shaped like a Christmas Tree. I took it to an Italian party, since we all miss chestnuts, and everybody loved it. The step by step instructions are here.

Then I have some Christmas Biscuits, recipe here,

And more Christmas Biscuits here.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Chestnut flour fritters

I grew up in the Apennine mountains of Italy, and during Autumn and Winter I ate chestnuts almost every day. These fritters were a staple in my family, they are easy to make and incredibly filling.

Mix 250g of chestnut flour with 400ml of water, mix well and add a tablespoon of sultana.

With a spoon drop some batter into the hot oil (I used rice bran oil) and cook on both sides; it only takes a couple of minutes.

Place the fritter on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

These fritters are actually better cold, just by themselves, or with a little ricotta cheese.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Mont Blanc Mille-feuille

I made this cake for Christmas Eve, the base is frozen New Way puff pastry, which is vegetarian.

I cut out four shapes (I was thinking of a Christmas tree), I brushed them with water and sprinkled them with caster sugar (to make sweet puff pastry). With a fork I made some incisions on the pastry so it would not puff up too much during baking.

I had some pastry left over, so I mixed it with more caster sugar and cinnamon and rolled it out with the rolling pin and then folded it again a few times (like you do with puff pastry) until all the sugar was well mixed. Then I rolled it up and cut it into small circles, which I lightly pushed up using my finger. I thought that they could look like little pine cones...

I baked everything at 180°C until golden (about 15-20 minutes). To make the filling I used Clément Faugier canned chestnut purée: one large can of unsweetened purée, and one small can of the sweet type (crème de marrons), which has a hint of vanilla. I mixed the chestnut with a little rum (Ron Zacapa Centenario, an excellent rum produced in Guatemala), some grated dark chocolate, and some whipped cream. I assembled the mille-feuille 'tree' starting from the largest piece of pastry, and topping it with some chestnut mixture, and some more whipped cream. I continued until the last layer.

I used the remaining chestnut mixture to fill the pastry 'pine cones' and took the cake to a party. It was really easy to cut and serve, and it feed many people. Everybody liked it!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Autumn in Italy: Chestnuts and Porcini Mushrooms

Casturia, the chestnut wood in Poggioraso, Sestola.

Peeling roasted chestnuts in the evening.

There are also porcini mushrooms.

An old stone chestnut drying house in the woods.

Tagliatelle with fresh porcini mushrooms.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©