Cantucci ai gusti Siciliani

Cantucci (or Biscotti, as they are called here in New Zealand) are one of the easiest treats to make and will turn your afternoon coffee break into a sophisticated dolce vita moment.

I love Sicilian flavours - lemon, pistachio, almonds. If I could, I'd put them into every dish ... and to be perfectly honest, I put lemon in most things I cook anyway ;). Cantucci originate in Prato, a town in northern Italy. This recipe combines the best of the Italian north and south in my opinion. They are super easy and fast to make.

makes 12 large or 18 small biscuits

140 g all purpose flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder

75 g caster sugar

1 large egg

zest of 1 lemon, finely grated

1 pinch of salt

30 g toasted almonds, whole with skin on

25 g toasted pistachios, whole

20 g very dark chocolate (min 75%), coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180ºC top and bottom heat (160ºC fan).

In a medium bowl, sift flour, cinnamon and baking powder together. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar, salt and lemon zest until lightly foamy.

Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and combine just until you have a smooth dough. Add a little bit of flour if the dough is sticking to your fingers too much. Don't overwork the dough, you want the biscuits to be crumbly.

Lightly flour the kitchen bench, pat the dough out into a small rectangle and evenly distribute the nuts and chocolate over the dough. Roll into a sausage and knead very briefly to distribute the filling.

Shape the dough into an about 25-30 cm long thick roll. Shorter and wider for bigger biscuits, longer and smaller for smaller biscuits. Don't pat it flat, as some recipes suggest. It should be nice and round.

Bake on a tray lined with baking paper for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.

Take out of the oven and let cool for a few minutes. With a serrated knife, slice the roll at an angle into diagonal pieces around 2 cm wide. Put the pieces back on the baking tray, cut side up, and bake for 8-10 minutes, turning them over half way through. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

You can vary the amount of almonds and pistachios to your liking, but keep the overall weight about the same.