Brutti ma Buoni

A nut meringue cooked in the pan before it is baked, which is what makes it chewy rather than crisp.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg.

Ingredients

• 300 g hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
• 250 g caster sugar
• 4 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• a pinch of salt

Method

1. Toast the hazelnuts and rub the skins off in a cloth. Chop them roughly — some pieces half a nut across, which is where the texture comes from.
2. Whisk the whites with the salt to firm peaks, then whisk the sugar in a spoonful at a time until stiff and glossy.
3. Fold in the nuts and vanilla.
4. NOW COOK THE MIXTURE IN A PAN, which is the step that makes these what they are. Put it in a wide heavy pan over a low heat and stir constantly for 12 to 15 minutes, until it darkens to the colour of milky coffee, thickens, and comes away from the sides in a mass.
5. Without that cooking these are simply nut meringues: crisp all through and pale. With it the sugar partly caramelises and the inside stays chewy under a dry shell.
6. Drop rough spoonfuls onto lined trays, well apart. They are meant to look collapsed and lumpy — the name says so.
7. Bake at 150C for 30 minutes. Cool on the trays.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes