In Italy nuts are known as Frutta Secca, which translates as dried fruit, slightly strange sounding for us English speakers because we think of dried fruit as sultanas, prunes, dried apricots and the like. But when you think about it, the things that fall off trees at the end of the summer; Nocciole (hazelnuts), Noci (walnuts), Castagne (chestnuts) and Pinoli (pine nuts) are all, botanically speaking, fruit; part of nature’s wonderful reproduction cycle.
Nuts can be pretty costly little things, perfectly comprehensible considering what is involved in getting a nut, wrapped in a kernel and other organic matter, off a tree and into the kitchen. Picnicking in Villa Pamphili, one of Rome’s grand parks that was once the summer estate of the noble Pamphili family, pine cones occasionally fall from the ancient trees to bump up under rugs and reclining picnickers. Break the cone open and small super hard shells can be found, that when carefully smashed between two stones reveal the precious nuts. Hence the price of Italian pine nuts and real Pesto alla Genovese.
Her friend Rosemary was a good cook and very generous with her recipes, mum explained. She often served these dainty biscuits, but mum felt shy to ask for yet another of her recipes. Some years later a recipe turned up, via her sister Margie, for Pecan Crescents. Margie’s mother in law had given her a copy of the Australian American Association’s Women’s Group Cookbook, published in 1958. Mum and Margie usually swapped the pecans for walnuts when they made them, being more readily available and grown locally in Australia. Mum didn’t make walnut crescents often, they were most often reserved for when someone was coming for ‘tea’. When she did, I was to be found lingering by the biscuit platter.
The recipe has obvious European origins, crescent shaped biscuits are found all the way from Turkey up to Austria, made with various nuts, mainly walnuts and almonds. My gut feeling says that they were spread by the Ottomans, as Turkey and the mediterranean basin around is incredible nut growing territory. (Until you have seen the nut counters in countries like Lebanon you have not seen real nut bounty). With the Greek diaspora, the recipe travelled. In 1958 a recipe for Greek nut crescents kourabiedes (with walnuts or almonds) was published in the Yankee’s food and lifestyle pages, by editor Duncan MacDonald. The article celebrated the influx of European cuisines to postwar America, and also included recipes for halva (spiced semolina pudding) and loukoumathes (honey-coated fried-dough pastries). Using American pecans made them a little bit American, in a nice way. The recipe, re-published recently by Amy Traverso, in New England Today, is really close, perhaps even exactly the same as the one from the Australian American Association cookbook.
Walnut crescents, makes about 24 biscuits
125 g butter – softened
100 g walnuts
100 g sifted plain flour (00)
Pinch salt
2 tbs icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (or half a sachet of powdered vanilla if in Italy)
More icing sugar for dusting / rolling
Finely chop the walnuts leaving a little variety, some very fine floury grain and a little chunk. If using a hand blender or food processor be careful not to grind to a paste as walnuts are full of (good) oil.
Cream the room temperature butter using electric beaters or a stand mixer for a minute or two before adding the icing sugar, vanilla essence and a generous pinch of salt. Use a spatula to gently fold in the chopped walnuts and sifted flour and mix till the mixture comes together in a dough. Turn out onto a floured work surface, form a block, or a sausage, wrap in (the now empty) butter paper or piece of baking paper and let rest in fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Dust hands and the work surface with flour. Line a tray with baking paper. Cut off small chunks of dough and roll into crescent shapes and place on tray. If particularly warm rest them in the fridge as they are rolled. Bake in the middle of the oven, rotating if you have more than one tray, for approximately 20 minutes, then lay on biscuit rack to cool. Mum’s recipe says to roll in icing sugar, I prefer to blanket with sifted icing sugar, while still slightly warm. They will keep in an airtight tin for up to a week, but there is little historical evidence of this ever happening.
Ooooh there is some work happening on my kitchen at the moment – should be finished by the weekend. These will be the first things I make 💕
Ciao Clare, very slow replying here, hope your new kitchen is operational, looking forward to following what comes out of it. baci da Roma, Alice