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Tozzetti

Tozzetti

You never can tell what might happen when you let curiosity be your guide. You too, could wind up in a hotel room drinking prosecco and eating tozzetti with a bunch of total strangers.  Tozzetti? If you’re thinking they look like biscotti, you’re right, they do. But in Rome and many other places in Italy, these smaller, squat sized cookies are called tozzetti, from the word tozzo, or stubby.  Here we were not in Rome, but in the Val Gardena, at our hotel in Ortisei, where guests sit at the same table for dinner each night.  Next to us was a table of about a dozen men,  a jovial group who became even more boisterous with laughter when this fellow came down to join them: Jan-Feb 2010 Italy 489 Who was this guy dressed up as a soldier in the Red Guard? Well, I just had to ask as he walked by our table. Turns out his name is Roberto Bernardi and he bought the outfit on a business trip to China. He and about a dozen of his friends, all from the city of Treviso (where the sparkling wine prosecco is made) leave the wives at home and ski together for one week each year. The sight of Roberto in costume brought even more laughter to his already raucous group of friends, and broke the ice that started a conversation between him and the four of us at our table – me and my husband and our friends Al and Ellen.   One thing, as they say, leads to another, and in this case, the conversation with Roberto led to greetings from the whole group, followed by their insistence on treating the four of us to a round of prosecco.  Jan-Feb 2010 Italy 491 By the time dinner was over, we had chatted and learned more about this group of men whose careers ranged a gamut of professions – lawyers, judges, accountants, a doctor, and a jewelry store owner.  After dinner each night, the men gathered in one of their hotel room suites to continue discussions, watch television and enjoy more camaraderie and food. We had no hesitation saying yes when they invited the four of us to join them in their room for another round of prosecco, chocolates and other treats. Treviso friends That included homemade tozzetti made by Nazzareno Acquistucci, or Neno, who is a Brigadier General in the Italian Air Force. He brought these cookies with him that he had made at home: Jan-Feb 2010 Italy 541 Neno’s been retired since 1996 and still flies ultralights, but he also dedicates much of his time to Italian cuisine. Neno, as it turns out, is a delegate of the Italian Academy of Cuisine, (Accademia Italiana della Cucina), a group that was formed 50 years ago with the intent on preserving traditional Italian cooking around the world. Last fall, the Academy published a cookbook on regional cuisine that you can check out here. Jan-Feb 2010 Italy 543 We all enjoyed meeting these interesting and fun-loving men who spend one week together each winter skiing in Italy’s beautiful mountains. The enchanting Dolomites call us back each year as well.

But there’s another dynamic that happens whenever we ski in Italy, typified by the chance encounter that the friendly atmosphere here promotes. We were so grateful that the man in the Red Brigade happened to walk by our table and respond to our curious inquiry. We made new friends whom we left that night amid hugs, kisses, handshakes and invitations for a personal tour of their city on our next visit to Italy. Treviso, here we come! In the meantime, back at home, we’ll have to evoke memories of the night with these delicious tozzetti: Feb. 2010 183  Tozzetti Printable Recipe Here 4 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1 stick plus 3 T. butter, melted,  3 cups flour,  1 T. baking powder,  1 t. vanilla grated rind of 1/2 lemon, pinch of salt, 1 3/4 cup hazelnuts, roasted. Place eggs in mixer and beat with sugar. Add vanilla.  Mix flour with baking powder, salt and lemon rind. Add to egg and sugar mixture, alternately with the melted butter, and mix until well blended. Rough chop the hazelnuts and add them to the dough, using a wooden spoon. Using a buttered cookie sheet or one lined with parchment paper, form the dough into small logs. I fit three “logs” on one cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Let them cool, then slice and rebake in a 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes, turning once. Stand by the oven and watch carefully so they don’t burn.   Tozzetti 4 etti di nocciole tostate e schiacciate grossolanamente 4 uova 4 etti di farina 2 etti e mezzo di zucchero 1 etto e mezzo di burro fuso ( si può usare l’olio di oliva extra vergine con acidità max di 0,3 per averli ancora più leggeri) 1 bustina di pane degli angeli Scorza di un limone grattugiato Sbattere molto bene le uova con lo zucchero. Aggiungere nell’ordine la farina con il lievito, il burro, il limone, le nocciole frantumate grossolanamente. Aiutandosi con un cucchiaio ed una forchetta fare tre filoncini larghi circa 5 centimetri ed alti 2, metterli in una teglia antiaderente o appena imburrata ed infarinata. Passare in forno a 180 gradi per circa 15-20 minuti ( fino a quando all’esterno i panetti diventano leggermente abbronzati). Far raffreddare, poi tagliare fettine larghe poco più di un centimetro. Rimettere in forno e biscottare quanto basta da ambo le parti in modo da vederli appena abbronzati. Per fare bene queste operazioni occorrono solitamente tre teglie. E’ bene conservarli, una volta raffreddati, in un contenitore per alimenti chiuso ermeticamente.

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  4. Oh, my, how I would love to sit at the table with you and your friends, Linda, drinking prosecco and eating tozzetti! I love biscotti, so I will have to try your "stumpy" recipe for these lovely cookies.

  5. Have you noticed that most of the Italian men have nice full heads of grey hair???
    Hmmmm, must be the good food and vino!
    You don't take a bad photo!

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  7. Linda, fantastiche foto, belli i biscotti e sopratutto grande la ricetta in italiano!!!!
    Il tuo post à interessante e piacevole… baci

  8. your story makes these tozzetis even more special. Must've been a wonderful experience skiing on such beautiful slopes accompanied by new friends, each with a interesting story to tell. Thanks for sharing!

  10. I'm enjoying your vacation in Italy and the Tozetti is ready to be maked but I need to know why they are not called biscotti?

  12. Another beautiful post from that superb trip of yours. I am amazed at the great experiences and food you had. Meeting people while traveling is half of the fun of taking a trip. These guys look like fun. And if ever I wanted to paint a still life, it's of that blue-lined box filled with cookies and the coffee cup nearby with the red flower. Just lovely. The recipe sounds delicious too.

  13. What an interesting and distinguished group of men that you met, Linda! How nice to now have them as your friends in Treviso the next time you visit Italy!

    The tozzetti look delicious! A perfect little treat with coffee.

  18. ciao Linda! lovely post, thank you.
    Accademia Italiana della Cucina has chapters in America, too. i belong to the NYC chapter. we try to preserve authenticity and tradition of italian cooking. one of our activities is we go to dinners to so called Italian restaurants and we give ratings to the food and service. we are tough!
    Beatrice http://www.gustiamo.com

  19. Meeting new friends is one of the great joy of traveling. Thanks for sharing your wonderful travel stories with us, Linda.

  21. Boy, I love Italians! Always so friendly and generous. That evening sounds like a blast! Lucky you! And what wonderful, perfect tozzetti! Great recipe!

  22. Tozzetti is in my future. If I bake them, will I find myself surrounded by ten jovial, laughing men? Paul (husband-person) gave me La Cucina for Valentine's Day. I am reading it like a novel, cooking and finding some long-lost family recipes. It is a treasure.

  24. I'm so glad you have the printable recipe.. these are a must to make!

    I was just reading the "about"section. Whenever I read the heritage of my Italian online friends I always get exited and think.. wow.. somewhere way down the line we could be related! 🙂 My mom is Calabrese and my dad is Roman and Abruzzese. 🙂
    I'm so happy for you that you have spent so much time in the land you love!

  26. Yes for a moment there I thought they were biscotti. They look delicious and a great way to celebrate with a dozen friends! Thanks for sharing your memories.

  28. I totally love this story, and the Italians who made it with you! (I really like that cookbook, too – have been reading it but not actually making anything from it yet.)

  29. My ex-boss too is in the Accademia, he had few recipes published too!
    The very beauty in traveling, beside discovering new places, is meet new friends, don't you think?

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