Mantovana with pine nuts from Montalcino between tradition and innovation
At Fattoria del Colle the pastry chef Patrizia Cenni and the Chef Giovanni Rallo created a cake that tells the story of the tradition of mantovana from Montalcino.
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Di Donatella Cinelli Colombini
In Montalcino Mantovana is a typical cake and is made only with pine nuts without almonds. It is my daughter Violante Gardini favorite cake and it was hard to make here accept this new version since she has childhood memories linked to this recipe.
Patrizia and Giovanni created a dessert that is completely new but able to show that Tuscan food culture is capable of renovating itself respecting the tradition.
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Giovanni Rallo invented a semifreddo with mantovana ingredients. On top of it are putted traditional mantovana bits garnished with a sprig of thyme. The result is awesome from a gastronomic point of view, because the balance of flavors is perfect and and also from cultural point of view since it respects the tradition.
Below you will find the recipe for the traditional mantovana just like the one made by Patrizia Cenni. For Giovanni Rallo’s semifreddo, recently created, you’l have to come to Fattoria del Colle and try it since it is still a secret.
The best wine to pair with this wonderful dessert is our Passito 2017 di Donatella Cinelli Colombini that lately received 94/100 points from the prestigious Wine Advocate-Robert Parker.
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MANTOVANA WITH PINE NUTS FROM MONTALCINO
INGREDIENTS
175 g butter
100 flour 00 and 100g and flour starch
200 g sugar and half vanilla bean
2 eggs and 3 yolk
A tea spoon of yeast
One lemon zest
40 g toasted pine nuts
PREPARATION
Whisk the eggs with the sugar and vanilla. Melt the butter and then grate the lemon zest ,add the vanilla than mix carefully. Mix the flour and add the yeast to form a homogeneous mixture. Using the sieve, add the flour to the eggs, alternating this with the butter. Proceed slowly and carefully to a well-built dough. Finally add half of the pine nuts. Pour into the buttered and floured baking pan add the rest of the pine nuts and bake for 25 minutes at the temperature of about 160°C .The cake must be soft and should be eaten cold. It remains pleasant, as a dessert to soak, even after several days when it becomes drier.