Savoury Cantucci with Pecorino and hazelnuts

photo and recipe by Elisa Ceccuzzi

Cantucci and Vin Santo have always represented, in Tuscany as well as in the rest of Italy, a delightful conclusion to a meal. The ritual of dipping (pucciare) a cantuccio into wine or coffee has been copied everywhere, even abroad. How about if, for a change, cantucci did not appear on the table at the end of the meal, but at the beginning? This savoury version of the famous biscuits can accompany typical Tuscan entreès such as cured meat, salami or cheese, but can also substitute bread throughout the whole meal.

QUICK TIP: To make sure that they are not too salty, I suggest you taste the Pecorino cheese before adding it, in order to determine how salty it can be, and dose it accordingly.

Following this recipe you will obtain circa 20 biscuits.

Ingredients

• 210 gr of flour
• 80 gr of grated Pecorino Toscano DOP
• 60 ml of milk
• 50 gr of hazelnuts
• 1 egg
• 60 gr of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of yeast
• 1/2 tablespoon of salt

Procedure

Turn on the oven at 170° C (with a ventilated oven). Weigh the flour and add the sieved yeast. Add all the liquid ingredients: egg, oil, milk in which wi will have previously melted the cheese. Mix everything with nuts to obtain a compact and well mixed dough and form it in the shape of a ball. Divide the dough in two parts, placed on two different baking-tins covered with greaseproof paper. Give the dough the shape of two small loafs. Bake in the hot oven for 40 minutes. Take out the loafs and leave them to cool before cutting them and putting them back in the oven. Bake for further 10 minutes so the become gold.

Food pairing

Follow Elisa’s suggestion and try these savoury cantucci with Pecorino and hazelnuts together with salami or ham as a starter. The right food pairing? Try our Scantianum Igt (with Sangiovese grapes, plus other varieties). Here you can find the product sheet, plus a video description!