Baking From Northern Italy, By Richard Sax - 3 Recipe
Yield: 1 servingsRecipe by luhu.jp
Ingredients:
SERVINGS
SOURCE: GOURMET MAGAZINE, 02
FROM: SALLIE KREBS
Directions:
Presniz is the third and remaining cousin in the gubana-putiza-presniz
family, and it is frequently confused with the other two. This
spectacular version is from Simone Supanz. Unlike its two relatives,
a presniz is made with puff pastry, and, once the dough is filled and
wrapped in a loose coil, it is baked on a baking sheet rather than in
a cake pan. Presniz probably evolved from Viennese origins; it is
slightly more refined than its relations. The filling, based on a
marzipan-like mixture of ground nuts and sugar, is similar to that
used for gubana, but it is made with hazelnuts, walnuts, and rum.
This specialty can be found in Trieste and its surroundings. If you
use an excellent brand of commercial all-butter puff pastry, you can
put a fine presniz together in minutes. Homemade puff pastry requires
considerably more fuss, but some prefer it. This rich pastry is
served on festive occasions, so the amounts are for a large dessert.
Leftovers can be reheated in a low oven, in order to crisp the
pastry. Serve the presniz with coffee or tea, or offer a glass of
grappa or brandy alongside. "Bona pasqua, bone pinze," an old saying
goes. Serving pinza, a golden round of egg-glazed yeast bread marked
with a cross or swirl pattern, augurs well for the Easter season. In
the old days housewives would start the first of several rises of the
dough at four in the morning. Then, on Good Friday, they would bring
their pinza dough to the village bread baker, covering it with a
towel for the last rise. Though the practice has largely disappeared,
to this day it is still considered a point of honor to bake a pinza
at home. The name pinza probably shares its origins with "pizza."
Pinza friulana or triestina is also sometimes called "focaccia" or
"foccacia dolce" and is enjoyed for dessert along with such local
sweet white wines as Verduzzo and Picolit, the latter considered
comparable to Sauternes. Pinza dough, rich in eggs, butter, and
sugar, can also be made with honey. Some versions of this recipe
require four rises, with a little of the flour and other ingredients
added for each successive rising. Such a method results in more
developed flavor and a finer texture; professional American bakers
term the method "re-mix." The following recipe calls for only two
rises. (Pinza recipe here) The small, crisp almond cookies known as
favette ("little beans") or Jave triestina are found in every
pasticceria window in the region from October through the end of
November. They commemorate the All Saints days of November 1, 2, and
3, when souls are released from purgatory. The cookies are colored
beige, pink, and tan and arc gathered in small cellophane bags and
neatly tied with ribbon. Favette are sometimes called fave dei morti
("beans of the dead"), as fava beans figure in the All Saints
celebration, as well as in several old superstitions and myths. The
Greeks associated favas with funerary rites; Mary Simeti notes that,
according to Pythagoras, the hollow stalk of the fava plant provided
a pathway to Hades for the spirits of the dead. Over the years,
possibly in the eighteenth century, sweet facsimiles, like these
little cookies, came to be substituted for the real beans. Regardless
of their macabre connotations, these small macaroons are delicious,
easy to make, and successfully stored in an airtight container.
(Favette recipe here)
Submitted By SALLIE KREBS On 12-07-94
Source from luhu.jp
family, and it is frequently confused with the other two. This
spectacular version is from Simone Supanz. Unlike its two relatives,
a presniz is made with puff pastry, and, once the dough is filled and
wrapped in a loose coil, it is baked on a baking sheet rather than in
a cake pan. Presniz probably evolved from Viennese origins; it is
slightly more refined than its relations. The filling, based on a
marzipan-like mixture of ground nuts and sugar, is similar to that
used for gubana, but it is made with hazelnuts, walnuts, and rum.
This specialty can be found in Trieste and its surroundings. If you
use an excellent brand of commercial all-butter puff pastry, you can
put a fine presniz together in minutes. Homemade puff pastry requires
considerably more fuss, but some prefer it. This rich pastry is
served on festive occasions, so the amounts are for a large dessert.
Leftovers can be reheated in a low oven, in order to crisp the
pastry. Serve the presniz with coffee or tea, or offer a glass of
grappa or brandy alongside. "Bona pasqua, bone pinze," an old saying
goes. Serving pinza, a golden round of egg-glazed yeast bread marked
with a cross or swirl pattern, augurs well for the Easter season. In
the old days housewives would start the first of several rises of the
dough at four in the morning. Then, on Good Friday, they would bring
their pinza dough to the village bread baker, covering it with a
towel for the last rise. Though the practice has largely disappeared,
to this day it is still considered a point of honor to bake a pinza
at home. The name pinza probably shares its origins with "pizza."
Pinza friulana or triestina is also sometimes called "focaccia" or
"foccacia dolce" and is enjoyed for dessert along with such local
sweet white wines as Verduzzo and Picolit, the latter considered
comparable to Sauternes. Pinza dough, rich in eggs, butter, and
sugar, can also be made with honey. Some versions of this recipe
require four rises, with a little of the flour and other ingredients
added for each successive rising. Such a method results in more
developed flavor and a finer texture; professional American bakers
term the method "re-mix." The following recipe calls for only two
rises. (Pinza recipe here) The small, crisp almond cookies known as
favette ("little beans") or Jave triestina are found in every
pasticceria window in the region from October through the end of
November. They commemorate the All Saints days of November 1, 2, and
3, when souls are released from purgatory. The cookies are colored
beige, pink, and tan and arc gathered in small cellophane bags and
neatly tied with ribbon. Favette are sometimes called fave dei morti
("beans of the dead"), as fava beans figure in the All Saints
celebration, as well as in several old superstitions and myths. The
Greeks associated favas with funerary rites; Mary Simeti notes that,
according to Pythagoras, the hollow stalk of the fava plant provided
a pathway to Hades for the spirits of the dead. Over the years,
possibly in the eighteenth century, sweet facsimiles, like these
little cookies, came to be substituted for the real beans. Regardless
of their macabre connotations, these small macaroons are delicious,
easy to make, and successfully stored in an airtight container.
(Favette recipe here)
Submitted By SALLIE KREBS On 12-07-94
Source from luhu.jp