From Cosa Bolle in Pentola, my free newsletter:
Moving at last towards food, we are nearing the Christmas season, which is synonymous with a great many pastries, including Pandoro, Panettone, Panforte, Ricciarelli, Caggionetti, and Struffoli. Among the greatest is Torrone, otherwise known as nougat, a concoction made from honey, well-whipped egg whites, vanilla, and walnuts or almonds; it's an ancient sweet that requires considerable skill and care to make well, and in the past was also a great favorite among pastry chefs because it can be used as a building material for making fanciful cakes and other such delights. It's made throughout Italy, and, according to Antonio Piccinardi, the productions of Alba, Cremona, Siena, Benevento, Calabria and Abruzzo are especially renowned. However, he says the height of refinement is reached in Sicily, and singles out Caltanisetta's tocchetti, Piazza Armerina's torrone, and cubbaita, an ancient torrone that's Arab in origin. He doesn't however, give recipes.

Maria Adele Di Leo instead does. Here's her recipe for cubbaita, drawn from I Dolci Siciliani. You'll need:

• 1 pound 2 ounces (500 g) honey
• 8 ounces (200 g) sugar
• 1 pound 2 ounces (500 g) sesame seeds
• 8 ounces (200 g) blanched, peeled, minced almonds
• Orange zest, thinly sliced (from untreated, organically grown oranges)

Combine all the ingredients in a pot and heat them over a gentle flame, stirring gently, until the mixture is thoroughly mixed. Remove it from the fire and pour it out onto an oiled marble slab and spread it to an even thickness of about a half inch with a spatula, dipping it in cool water lest it stick. When the torrone has cooled, cut it into squares.

A printer-friendly version of this recipe.

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