Turrones Recipes

TORRONE (ITALIAN NUT AND NOUGAT CONFECTION)

Steps:

• Line an 8x11-inch baking dish with plastic wrap, allowing ends to hang over the sides. Place 1 sheet of 8x10 wafer paper in the bottom of the pan. Keep the roasted almonds and pistachios in a warm place until ready to add at the end. This makes it easier to mix them in.
• Pour honey into a heavy-bottomed pot. Add sugar. Mix and stir over low heat with a spatula, stirring constantly until mixture turns from grainy to silky and smooth, about 30 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
• Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl; add a pinch of salt. Whisk until whites form soft peaks, 3 to 4 minutes. Place pot back on low heat. Gradually whisk about a quarter of the whipped egg whites into the honey/sugar mixture; whisk in the remaining egg whites in 3 more batches.
• Continue cooking over low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula until mixture turns a brighter white and a ribbon of the mixture does not immediately incorporate back into the rest of the mixture and stays intact on the surface for a while. This will take about 40 minutes. You can add a few drops of the mixture into a small bowl of ice cold water to test the consistency; ideally it should feel like soft clay.
• Whisk in vanilla and lemon zest. Add warm almonds and pistachios and stir to incorporate evenly.
• Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Even out as best you can with a clean oiled spatula. Top with 2nd sheet of wafer paper, shiny side up. Cover with plastic wrap and press down evenly, tamping mixture down gently but firmly. Remove top layer of plastic.
• Allow torrone to sit at room temperature until cool, firm, and ready to cut, 1 or 2 hours. Lift torrone from baking dish with the edges of the bottom layer of plastic wrap. Invert and remove plastic from the bottom. If the plastic wrap is difficult to remove from the edges of the torrone, you can trim off the edges.
• Cut torrone into 1-inch squares using a sharp serrated knife.

TURRONES

Steps:

• Blanch the almonds and remove the skins.
• Toast the almonds with hazlenuts in an open oven, about 350°F.
• Stir constantly.
• Chop the nuts real fine.
• Beat the egg whites until they are very stiff.
• Add to nuts.
• In a sauce pan, mixc the honey and sugar and melt over med-high heat.
• Add the nut paste, mix & stir constantly for ten minutes and remove from heat.
• Put in shallow china dishes lined with rice paper.
• When cold, sprinkle cinnamon on top.
• Cut into small pieces when set.

SPANISH TURRON RECIPE

Steps:

• Toast the almonds in the oven or in a pan at the stove, moving them whenever you can so that they brown evenly, and remove them before they turn dark.
• Put the sugar with the honey in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat over low heat and mix the sugar with the honey.
• Meanwhile, beat the egg white with a stand or hand mixer, until you get soft peaks.
• When the sugar and honey mixture begins to bubble, cook for two more minutes and remove from heat. Incorporate the whipped egg white slowly and move lightly so that it doesn't set. Return the pot to the heat of the stove and continue cooking while constantly stirring. Never take it to high heat, always medium to low.
• Don't stop stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture has the texture of caramel, which is known as the hard ballpoint, or until the caramel breaks. Then add the almonds and mix well.
• Let it cool for a few minutes and pour the nougat mix into a square or rectangular cake pan lined with parchment paper. Smooth the surface and let it cool completely before eating it.