My sister-in-law Karen is frequently the person who inspires me in the kitchen. (She’s also the person who inspired me to start this blog.) Her kitchen is a spacious, family-friendly spot and the food that she creates is always tasty, and even really good for you. I’ve spent many happy hours there, watching her cook and also cooking side by side with her.
Unfortunately, that kitchen is more than a thousand miles away from my own. When we are not together, I often take inspiration from her blog, FamilyStyle Food. And that’s where the inspiration for this post came from.
Last spring when Karen and the rest of my family were visiting Portland (during the International Association of Culinary Professionals annual meeting) she brought home a recipe from Portland chef Greg Higgins for walnut taralli. She said they reminded her of something she had eaten growing up in Providence. I was tempted.
Then we all got the flu and the thought of those biscuits flew far from my mind. Until a few weeks ago, when Karen posted about them on her blog. The thought of making them was back with a vengance, and this afternoon, while S was out doing errands and I was listening to the local NPR fund drive (yes, really), I decided to give them a try.
One of the great things about these biscuits is that they are really easy to make. You mix the dough, let it rise, roll out and shape the taralli,
and bake.
Voila, crunchy little nuggets that taste great with cheese, or a drizzle of olive oil and some salt,
or just plain.
Chef Higgins’ recipe can be found here. I made Karen’s version, with fennel seeds and 1/2 whole wheat flour; here’s her recipe,
Toasted Walnut Taralli
- 4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups stoneground whole wheat flour
- 1 cup finely ground toasted walnuts* (grind in food processor)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for brushing on taralli
Using the dough hook on your standing mixer, stir together the yeast, flours, walnuts, salt and fennel seeds.
Add 1 cup of the water and mix at medium-high speed until the dough starts to come together. Slowly add more water as necessary (turning down the mixer speed as you do so) until you have a smooth, moist dough. It shouldn’t be too wet or sticky, so keep your eyes peeled. Depending on the humidity and your flour, you might need a bit less water. (in Portland, today I needed only about 1 ½ cups of water)
Put the dough in a large oiled bowl, cover and let stand until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 3 or 4 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Punch the dough to deflate and turn it out onto a sparingly floured surface. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces.
Working with one piece at a time, cut each into balls about the size of a walnut. Roll and stretch each ball using your palms into ropes about 6 ” long. Bring the ends of the rope together to make a ring, tucking one end inside the other and pinching together.
Arrange the rings on the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between.
Brush the rings with oil and bake until golden and firm, about 30 minutes.
Remove to a rack and cool. The taralli will crisp up more as they cool.
*toast the walnuts for 5-7 minutes at 350 degrees.
Store at room temperature in covered container.
Makes about 5 dozen taralli.
I highly recommend that you give them a try.
knitting a life 