The Spanish people love their holiday pastries
and candies. The most famous is Turron and this is
formed into a nougat candy for their famous festive
treats. Much of the Spanish almond crop is used in
the production of Turron in the fall and the rest
is exported to Europe.
CHRISTMAS festivities would seem incomplete without
the traditional offerings of sweet breads cakes and
nougats (turrones). Often they are the traditional
finish to the Christmas feast as well as always being
at hand for when guests come calling.
In Spain, Christmas is well-flavoured with aniseed,
cinnamon, sesame, almonds and sweet Malaga wine. Many
of the cakes and breads have an almost oriental touch
(which is probably not surprisingly after centuries
of Moorish rule).
Christmas would not be Christmas without the "turrones"
which are served at the end of a meal with the cafe
and liqueurs, or with"cava" the Spanish
sparkling wine (similar to champagne) when guests
arrive.
There are two traditional recipes for nougat, named
after the places they are made :
a hard nougat - Alicante
and a softer one- Jijona
Nowadays there are many different sorts of nougats
made, with the traditional almonds being replaced
by peanuts, coconut, egg yolk, or chocolate.
You can learn
more about Turron by reading the general description
of this favorite Spanish candy
Turron de Jijona (soft nougat)
Ingredients :
1 dessertspoon cinnamon
250 gms sugar
250 grams white honey
250 grams toasted almonds
250 grams toasted hazelnuts
5 egg whites
Chop the nuts finely and then crush them in
the mortar until they become a smooth paste
Beat the eggs whites stiffly and then add them
to the paste
Put the honey and sugar in a saucepan and bring
to the boil
Add the paste to the honey mixture
Mix constantly with a wooden spatula for ten
minutes
Remove from the heat, put into wooden moulds
lined with rice paper
Leave to cool and then sprinkle with cinammon
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and
get some of favorite recipes at these Turron
websites
and recipes on almond
nougat for making your holiday Turron
Tortells Almond Rolls
15 grams pressed yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons warm water
500 grams flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
100 ml. hot water
200 grams sugar
2 tablespoons oil
1 small potato
125 grams finely ground almonds
1 teaspoongrated lemonrind
50 grams butter, softened
sugar
Dissolve the yeast in the 4 tablespoons of warm
water with a teaspoon of sugar.
Mix in 100 grams of the flour.
Put in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth and
leave to rise in a warm place.
In a large bowl mix the remaining 400 grams
of flour, salt, 2 lightly beaten eggs, hot water
and 80 grams of the sugar.
Add the yeast mixture to it, turn out onto a
floured board and knead until very smooth, adding
the oil a little at a time.
Place the dough in a lightly buttered bowl,
cover with a cloth, and leave in a warm place
to rise for an hour.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
Cook the potato, peel it, and put it through
a mincer and whip it with the remaining sugar.
Add the ground almonds and the grated lemon
peel.
Divide the filling into six portions and set
aside.
Divide the dough into pieces of about 150 grams.
Roll each out on a lightly floured board into
a rectangle and smear it with softened butter.
Place a strip of filling across one end and
roll the dough up.
Bring the ends together, forming a circle, and
pinch them together.
Place on buttered baking sheet. Proceed to fill
and roll the remaining dough.
Cover with a damp cloth and put in a warm place
to rise until nearly doubled in bulk (about
one hour).
Then brush with remaining beaten egg and sprinkle
with sugar and bake in a medium-hot oven until
golden, about 20 minutes.
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The carmelized
Turrone nougat is often combined with chocolate
coatings
Check
out these Facts about
Almonds.
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