Nucatoli

It's a good thing that food products are required to slap labels on because without it, I would never have been able to come up with a recipe. As mentioned previously, nucatoli were unknown to me until recently. The s-shaped cookies produced by Casa Don Puglisi in Modica (actually theirs are an inverted S) had a firm bite that was perfect for dipping into dessert wine or coffee, yet tender enough to eat all by itself. I was so wow'd by them and set about searching for a recipe online, but failed to find anything that even remotely resembled those I had purchased. I came across nacatole, a typical sweet from Calabria. And also nucatuli, a filled cookie from the Aeolian islands north of Sicily. As pretty and intricate they both were, neither had the same ingredients listed on the package of sicilian nucatoli.

Recipe

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 oz. lard (I used 2/3rds of a stick of cold butter)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons water
8 oz. dried figs (one heaping cup, packed)
8 oz. shelled walnuts (2 1/2 cups halved or broken pieces)
8 oz. ground almond meal (2 1/2 cups)
1 cup runny honey
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
grated zest of half an orange or 2 teaspoons orange blossom water

Tip: what makes this recipe even better is using the utmost best (your favorite) dried figs that you can find. They need to be moist and flavorful. I can't say who puts out the best on the market, but if it works for you, fine. I used Fichi della Nonna (Grandmother's Figs) made by Marano in Calabria. I'm not sure what's the process, but the figs were sticky as if they had been baked in syrup, and they had extra flavorings - aromatizzati - that I suspect are nutmeg and cloves (I guess you can still keep some secrets).

Here in Italy, I've grown accustomed to weighing ingredients but still practice the habit of cups and measuring spoons. Eight ounces of dried figs is a heaping cup as mentioned in the recipe, but a few extra won't hurt. In a food processor fitted with a blade, pulse or process the figs until a coarse paste is formed. Scoop out the fig paste and set aside.

Add the walnuts to the processor and blend until it resembles coarse meal. You can try to get it to a finer texture but avoid overprocessing to the point where it begins to get oily. Place the figs, ground walnuts, almond meal, honey and cinnamon in a large saucepan. Cook on the lowest flame, stirring carefully until the honey has heated up and all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Do not burn. Stir in the orange zest or orange water. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Make the outer crust: combine the flour and sugar. Add the butter and rub together with your fingers to obtain a coarse meal. Add 1/2 cup of water and work together to form a medium-compact ball. An additional 1 or 2 tbsps of water may be necessary, depending on the humidity of the flour used. On a lightly floured surface, gently knead the dough for a few seconds until smooth. Cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap; let rest for atleast 30 minutes. After the dough has rested, divide in two and roll out one half to a rectangle approximately 17 x 12 inches. Using a scalloped pastry cutter, neatly trim the edges, cutting off as little as possible. Cut the dough horizontally into 8 strips (see photo).

Preheat oven to 375°F. Working with walnut-size pieces, roll the fig-nut filling into logs about 1/2-inch in diameter, placing them down the center of the dough strip as you go. The next step is bringing up the edges of the dough around the filling and I tried 2 methods. The first (photo #2) was done by bringing up the edges at the same time. The second method (photos 3 to 5) is achieved by rolling the entire log towards the top edge of the dough strip. Then, gently using your fingertips, grasp the edge of the strip and roll it towards the bottom. Give a light tap along the whole length of the roll (photo #5) to adhere dough to filling.

Cut the the roll into 5 pieces and bend into an S-shape. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom. Repeat with the remaining half of dough and filling. Makes 80 nucatoli. Cool and store in covered containers.