Castagnaccio (Chestnut Cake)

By Nonna Paola from Agriturismo il Molinello in Tuscany.

You might enjoy this recipe on our tours in Italy or try at home using just a few ingredients. Paola made this recipe without precise quantites but based on her experience!

Ingredients for 6 people:

• 330 ml (1 and 1/3 cups) of water
• 250 grams (2 and 1/3 cups) of chestnut flour (we used the one made by the oldest mill of Tuscany in Loro Ciuffenna)
• Handful of pinenuts (~ ¼ cup)
• Handful of raisins (~ ¼ cup)
• Handful of chopped walnuts (~ ¼ cup)
• Fresh rosemary leaves
• 2 Tbsp EVOO 
• a pinch of salt

Directions:

• Into the flour, mix water little by little, carefully monitoring consistency. You are looking for a smooth batter (not too liquid, not too dry)
• Once achieved, add a pinch of salt 
• Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking tray.  Put a small amount of EVOO on the parchment paper (very thin layer) to help avoid sticking
• Spread your batter evently on the tray to reach a depth of approx. 1/4 of an inch (we used a 10-inch tray)
• Decorate with rosemary leaves (fresh rosemary from Il Molinello is best of course), pinenuts, chopped walnuts and raisins 
• Sling fresh EVOO over the top
• Bake for about 40 minutes at 360 F.

Cool, slice, and buon appetito!

ps for best results Paola suggests to press the toppings a bit into the dough