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Schwartz in the Times & Sbrisolona, a cake from Mantova
If you didn't get to read the lovely piece about me and my kitchens by Penelope Green in this past Sunday's New York Times real estate section – sort of an Arthur Schwartz biography told through my kitchens -- you can still read it on line and see even more Phil Mansfield photos of my apartment than were printed in the paper. The story is called Remembrance of Kitchens Past. There is also an Audio Slide Show called "When One Kitchen Won't Do." That's where all the photos are, and with me doing a voice over. Thanks to Samantha Storey for editing that.
I understand they keep these things archived for quite a while, so if you are reading this well after the posting, you should still be able to access the feature and slide show -- somehow.
On to a more delicious subject, here is the Sbrisolona recipe that I promised last week. To describe it in American terms, it is a cross between crumb cake and a cookie. I bake mine in a 12-inch pizza pan and it looks like a giant cookie. It also crumbles like a cookie, and it is traditionally served broken into pieces.
Sbrisolona is a specialty of Mantova (Mantua), in the north east of Italy, about 1½ hours southwest of Venice, and only about 30 minutes or so south of Verona, which is how I happened to be there. If you remember, in May I hosted a cruise that started in Venice. But before we picked up the ship, most of the group opted to spend three days with me in Verona. It was at lunch at the marvelous Al Pompiere, which is in the very heart of Verona's historic center, just off the Piazza Erbe (viale Regina d'Ungheria 5, tel. 045-803-0537), that we were served Sbrisolona for dessert. Several people wanted the recipe. One of them asked for it and got it, and passed it on to me to work out in American measurements with American ingredients.
I tried. Twice. The first time I thought I had almost got it right at the starting gate. But it was a little too crumbly, a little too gritty (from the essential corn meal), and I thought not crisp enough. Next time out, I altered the proportions ever so slightly, used a bigger pan because I thought the lack of crispness might be because it was too thick (the edges were perfect), and I lengthened the baking time. The second try was worse than the first.
A little frustrated – although not entirely … I have been through this before – I decided to make the Sbrisolona recipe in my friend Michele Scicolone's mammoth work, her masterwork, 1,000 Italian Recipes. Sure enough, like all of Michele's recipes, it worked like a dream. I left out her lemon peel, because the recipe I got from Verona did not have any, and I used roasted nuts with their skins, for maximum almond flavor, though Michele doesn't specify them. I may have altered the wording of a direction or two, too. I can't help myself. But this is essentially Michele's recipe.
One evening, after lunch at a trattoria in the country, a place situated by the rice paddies of the area and specializing in risotto (we had four), I took my group to Mantova, just to make the early evening passagiatta, the Italians – north, south, east and west -- habitual stroll through a town's or a city's center -- to see and be seen, not much more. As I walked through the two main and adjacent piazze of Mantova, I would have to say that there were at least a dozen places selling Sbrisolona, all which offer a sample taste and none of which were half as good as the following recipe.
Enjoy the Sbrisolona!
Sbrisolona
(Crumbly Almond Cake of Mantova)
1½ cups roasted almonds (not blanched) (see note)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup fine corn meal (I use Quaker Oats, which is a brand everyone can find)
Butter a 12-inch round pizza pan or equivalent sized baking sheet.
Chop the almonds finely. I use the food processor. They should NOT be ground into a powder, just chopped. The pieces can be uneven. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and salt until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well mixed.
Add the finely chopped almonds, the flour, and the cornmeal and stir in (on low speed with an electric mixer) until just blended and the dough sticks together.
Scatter pieces of the dough on the baking sheet, then gently press it into a cohesive mass, covering all spaces, but do not smooth the top. Leave it bumpy and rough.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes, until the cake is a very pale golden, with a slight browning at the edge, and the center feels firm.
Remove it from the oven and let it cool for about 15 minutes. Using a long spatula, loosen the cake from the baking sheet and slide it off onto the rack. Don't worry if it breaks. Let cool completely before serving. Even better, serve it the day after it is made.
For serving, the Sbrisolona is not cut, but broken into pieces.
The cake will keep well on a plate covered with aluminum foil. Do not put it in a tin or airtight container.
Note: I purchase unsalted roasted almonds in my supermarket. If your market does not carry already roasted nuts, place un-roasted nuts on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven for about 5 minutes. Roasting brings out the nut flavor, and make for a much more flavorful Sbrisolona.
