Every autumn, in most of the villages of Marliana, such as Momigno or Montagnana, festivals and fairs are organized to celebrate the chestnut. But the protagonist always remains him: the castagnaccio. Tuscan farmers began to reduce chestnuts into flour, which was then used for various recipes.
A bit of history
This dessert has poor origins and was made using only water and chestnut flour. Castagnaccio has many names: it is also called baldino in the province of Arezzo and ghirighio in the Florentine Plain, and is a typical dessert of Tuscany and Lunigiana.
The recipe for Castagnaccio
The recipe is very old and dates back to the 16th century. In particular, it seems that the originator was a certain Pilade da Lucca, who is mentioned in a book from 1553. In the work “Commentario delle più notabili et mostruose cose d’Italia e di altri luoghi” written by the humanist Hortensio Lando, it is told how Pillade da Lucca was the first to prepare Castagnaccio.
How is it prepared?
Castagnaccio is made by baking a mixture of chestnut flour, shelled pine nuts, shelled walnuts, water, raisins, rosemary, olive oil and salt, to be topped with more raisins and pine nuts before baking. It can be enjoyed as a dessert at the end of a meal accompanied by an excellent Vin Santo.