Ricette di Sicilia
Cibo, cultura e tradizioni siciliane
Tortorici Hazelnut Biscuits (Pasta Reale): A Crispy Sicilian Sweet from the Nebrodi Mountains
Learn how to make Tortorici’s pasta reale — a fragrant, crunchy Sicilian hazelnut biscuit traditionally crafted in the Nebrodi hills.
🛒 Ingredients
- ✓ 1 kg shelled hazelnuts (ideally from the Nebrodi hills)
- ✓ 1 kg caster sugar
- ✓ 500 ml water
- ✓ Flour as needed for kneading and dusting (wheat flour)
📊 Nutritional Information
If you want to bring a truly authentic Sicilian sweet into your kitchen, look no further than Tortorici’s pasta reale — a rustic hazelnut biscuit from the Nebrodi Mountains. Crisp on the outside, tender at the core and intensely nutty, this is a traditional treat made with just a handful of honest ingredients.
In Tortorici, hazelnut groves climb the hillsides, and these biscuits celebrate that aroma in its purest form: slow-roasted nuts, sugar, water and a little flour. Nothing more, nothing less — yet the result is wonderfully fragrant and impossible to forget.
👨🍳 Preparation
- 1
Slowly roast the hazelnuts in the oven until golden and fragrant, then allow to cool and rub away the skins.
- 2
Grind the hazelnuts to a medium crumb — not too coarse, not too fine, to keep the texture just right.
- 3
In a large bowl, combine the sugar and water, then add the roasted hazelnuts. Mix with your hands until a cohesive dough forms.
- 4
Take a small portion of dough, roll it lightly in flour and shape it into a ball. Using your clean hand, press gently with your thumb, index and middle finger, lifting slightly to create the traditional “pinched” top.
- 5
Arrange the shaped biscuits on a tray or wooden board and leave them to rest for about 72 hours in a cool, dry place, away from humidity.
- 6
Preheat the oven to 170°C and bake the biscuits for around 20 minutes, until golden with their characteristic white sugar dome.
💡 Tips and Variations
For maximum crispness, store the biscuits in an airtight container in a dry environment. If you want to experiment, drizzle a touch of zagara honey before the final bake — but avoid strong spices such as cinnamon or cloves, which are not part of the traditional flavour profile.
📦 Storage
- • Store in a tin or airtight container in a cool, dry place.
- • Avoid humidity and temperature fluctuations; no need to refrigerate.
- • They keep well for up to three months if properly stored.
🍷 Pairing
Enjoy with a Sicilian dessert wine such as Etna Passito, which enhances the natural sweetness of the hazelnuts.
May this recipe bring a little piece of the Nebrodi Mountains straight into your home. Buon appetito — and until the next sweet creation!
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