Sour Cherry and Pistachio Biscotti
As part of having a more positive year this year I decided to try at least one new recipe every month.
We got a lovely pack of biscotti for Christmas and I thought that couldn’t be too hard, and do you know what? It wasn’t, just take your time and enjoy the process.
- 100g pistachio
- 50g sour cherries
- 250g caster sugar
- 1 tsp fennel seeds (optional but not really 😉)
- Grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
- 250g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp fine salt
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- Icing sugar or flour, to dust
This is the perfect recipe to make on a bumbling Sunday morning, just gradually get everything ready in separate bowls before heating the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark six. Spread the nuts out on a baking tray and bake for about seven minutes. Allow to cool a little, then roughly chop.
Meanwhile, put 1 tbsp of the sugar in a mortar with the fennel seeds (if using) and bruise them together. Stir this, along with the zest, into the remaining sugar (if you’re not using the seeds, skip this step). Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Mix the sugar with the flour, baking powder and salt, then stir in the eggs, followed by the almonds. Bring it all together into a dough.
Dust a work surface lightly with icing sugar or flour, then divide the dough into two. Roll into sausages about 5cm in diameter, then arrange well apart on the tray and flatten slightly. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden atwo sausages of biscuit just out the ovennd firm on the outside. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little, reducing the heat to 150C.
Transfer to a chopping board and, using a bread knife, cut into diagonal slices about 1cm wide. Lay the slices on the baking tray and bake for a further 20-25 minutes, or until golden, then turn over and repeat (they’ll probably need less time on the other side). Allow to cool, then store in an airtight container, the more they are packed in the longer they’ll last.
