L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 34 L'Italo-Americano LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES P izzelle, (pizzella for sin- gular). 'Pizze' means flat and round and adding the 'elle' at the end indicates that they are small. It is said that pizzelle are one of the oldest known cookie recipes in Italy. In two different towns we know of, pizzelle are traditionally made for their annual celebrations. The people of Salle, from the region of Pescara, celebrate the feast of Beato Roberto every J u l y . P i z z e l l e a r e m a d e a n d brought to the town piazza and carried through the streets dur- ing the feast hanging from tree branches. Cocullo, a small village in the region of Abruzzo, has an annual celebration day of San Domenico, also known as the Festival of the Snakes (Festa dei serpari). This ancient festa pays tribute to San Domenico who is said to protect the locals from snake bites. The story goes that this village was infested with snakes and many died young f r o m u n w e l c o m e e n c o u n t e r s with serpents. Shepherds were led to believe that the act of cap- turing the snakes and draping them around the statue of St. Domenico before releasing them back into the wild would domes- ticate them. Sounds unlikely but nevertheless it seemed to work and this became an annual tradi- tion, celebrated with a feast and of course - pizzelle making. Depending on the region of Italy the recipe is from, pizzelle can be wafer thin and delicate or more 'waffle' like such as the recipe we are featuring today. What we loved most about this recipe is the irons used to cook t h e m . T h e y c a m e f r o m t h e i r hometown, Pratola Peligna, and were made by a local forger 'Mastro Dino. The irons were costly even back then but they last a lifetime and became fami- ly heirlooms. Often the family's initials or crest would be forged into the iron! How awesome is that! We are on a mission to locate someone that still makes this style of pizzelle iron. If you don't have an iron like this, as I'm sure not many of us do, you can use an electric waffle iron. How we came to meet Nonna L a u r a i s a t e s t a m e n t t o t h e importance of what we do here at Nonna's Way. We received a call from our friend Franco who w a n t e d u s t o c a p t u r e t h i s p i z z e l l e r e c i p e f o r h i m . H i s mother, now passed, used to make it all the time with Laura. Although he makes them often, Franco says his pizzelle are just never the same and he wants to get the recipe right, once and for a l l . T h i s i s p r o o f t h a t t h e s e recipes we are recording are m o r e t h a n j u s t d i r e c t i o n s t o make a batch of cookies or pre- pare a pasta dish. They are a link to the past, a hold on to memo- ries, and a small way to honour t h e o n e s w e l o v e b y m a k i n g them for our own children and reminisce about the 'good old days'. One of the perks of doing this blog is getting to taste test every- thing. We had a chance to sam- ple these waffle cookies hot off the irons and they were deli- cious! Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. They are great o n t h e i r o w n a n d , t y p i c a l l y , that's how Italians eat them but you could also try them with your favorite jam, fruit, or even Nutella – for the children of course: Symbolism and supersti- tions are part of everyday life for Italians, even in their kitchens. These pizzelle were most often found at wedding celebrations and the shape is supposed to symbolize two wedding rings joined together. Ingredients: • 12 eggs • 2 cups granulated sugar • 1 cup butter, melted • 7.5 cups all purpose flour • zest of 1 lemon • juice of 1 lemon • 4 teaspoons baking powder • 1 / 4 c u p a n i s e t t e l i q u o r (secret ingredient!) Instructions: 1. Break eggs into a large bowl 2. Add sugar to eggs Mix with a hand mixer or stand mixer on high for 2 min- utes 3. Add zest of 1 lemon and mix for another minute 4. Add melted butter, scrape down sides and mix for 2 more minutes 5. Add anisette and mix by hand to incorporate 6. Add 5.5 cups of flour, one c u p a t a t i m e k n e a d i n g i n between 7. Add baking powder and lemon juice to the batter and mix with hands 8. Spread 1 cup of flour onto kneading surface and dump bat- ter onto it 9. As you gently knead the dough, work the remaining flour into it, half a cup at a time, until it no longer sticks to your hands. Dough should be soft like pizza dough. (You may not need to use all of the remaining 2 cups of flour) 10. Bring together into a large round and place into an oiled bowl 11. Score a cross into the top of the dough (to 'bless' it!) and cover with plastic wrap 12. Let it rest for 10 minutes 1 3 . H e a t u p t h e p i z z e l l e i r o n ( s ) t o a m e d i u m h e a t o n stove top burners 14. With a floured knife, cut the dough into 12 equal pieces 15. One at a time, from each of the 12 pieces, into a log about 24" long and then cut into 7 equal pieces. Keep remainder of the dough covered 16. Roll each of the 7 pieces, into an 18" log and fold to make a figure 8 shape (see pictures in post) 17. Place figure 8's onto a clean cloth 18. Place figure 8 onto heated pizzelle iron, close tight and flip right away onto the other side if using stove top style 19. Open lid to check, when slightly colored flip again 20. When other side is done, carefully remove cooked pizzelle and place on clean surface Takes about 4 minutes total to cook Notes Work only some of the dough at a time and keep the remainder of the dough covered with plas- tic wrap to keep from drying out. When rolling the dough into the logs, sprinkle small amounts of flour onto the work surface if needed to keep the dough from sticking. These pizzelle were most often found at wedding celebrations and the shape is supposed to symbolize two wedding rings. Photo: Nonna's Way Pizzelle- A Symbolic Tradition ANNA ROMANO & ANGELA DESALVO Depending on the region of Italy the recipe is from, pizzelle can be wafer thin and delicate or more "waffle" like. Photo: Nonna's Way

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