Italian chestnut fritters

… chestnut fritters! And you only need three ingredients: Italian chestnut flour (which is naturally sweet so you don't need to add sugar), sultana (optional, but traditional!) and oil for frying! These are full of protein, gluten free, and perfect for breakfast, or snack, hot or cold. I love them after a gym workout and the kids like to put them in their lunch boxes. They are very filling, plus they last a few days, if you don't eat them all at once!

Mix the chestnut flour with enough water to make a batter (same consistency as hot cakes), add the sultana.

 Drop full spoons of batter in the hot oil and fry on both sides until nice and brown.

Drain excess oil with kitchen paper

Enjoy! 

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Gluten free, fat free, sugar free, vegan chestnut and cocoa cakes

 I used one cup of Italian chestnut flour (only used Italian chestnut flour, the chestnuts have been toasted prior to grinding and have a special sweet taste and lovely texture!), 2 tsp cocoa, a few sultanas and enough water to make a batter. I poured the batter in silicone moulds and baked for about 20 minutes (until a toothpick came out clean). Very yummy, incredibly filling, and healthy too.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Chestnut fritters, vegan, gluten free and naturally sweet!

The best thing about these fritters is that chestnut flour is naturally sweet, so no sugar is needed. Also these are vegan and gluten free, all you need is chestnut flour, water, sultana (optional) and some oil for frying. You can find the recipe here.

Photos and Recipe by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Sweet potato Vegan and gluten free cakes

 One of my favourite Japanese sweet is the baked sweet potato wagashi. I made something similar to this before, and I thought that the New Zealand kumara looks like a Japanese potato... but then I ended up with something completely different :-).

First of all kumara are much softer that Japanese sweet potatoes, then I only had an orange kumara at home (the red ones are better because they are white inside). I thought of baking my kumara, as steaming it was going to make it even softer and in the meantime I drunk a bit of Umeshu,  (my husband came back from Japan with a bottle of Choya Umeshu, sweet plum sake) and decided to soak a few sultanas in some too to add to my cakes. Once my kumara was done I quickly realized that it was going to be far too soft for molding, so I reverted to plan B, i.e. not shaping the sweets by chakin shibori (with a muslin cloth or handkerchief), but simply dropping them on the baking tray with a spoon! For one mashed kumara I added 2 tsp of brown sugar, and then 'dropped' three tablespoons of the mixture on the baking tray. I did the other three adding the sultana soaked in Umeshu, just to make a variation. 

 I baked everything at 180°C for about 15 minutes. To look at them I think that these are among the ugliest sweets I have ever made, but they tasted incredibly good, especially the ones with the sultana. I will make them again, but I will also look for some more 'floury' sweet potatoes (not kumara) so if you know where I can get some in Auckland please let me know!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Vegan Banana Cake, with sultana and grappa

Ingredients:

2 tbsp sultana

1 small glass of grappa

5 ripe bananas

A few drops of lemon

100 g icing sugar + some for dusting

100 ml vegetable oil

200 g self rising flour

Soak the sultana in the grappa. Mush the bananas with the lemon juice, add the sugar and the other ingredients and beat well, then fold in the sultanas with the grappa. Grease a cake mould and pour the cake mixture in, bake at 180°C for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Reverse onto a serving plate and serve warm or cold. This cake is very moist and delicious, great with tea or coffee, I even have it for breakfast (don't worry about the grappa, you can barely taste it and the alcohol is all gone!).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

This recipe is for Sweet New Zealand, the monthly blogging event hosted this month of May by Jemma

from Time for a Little Something

Chestnut Flour Fritters

I grew up in the Apennine mountains of Italy, and during Autumn and Winter I ate chestnuts almost every day. These fritters were a staple in my family, they are easy to make and incredibly filling.

Mix 250g of chestnut flour with 400ml of water, mix well and add a tablespoon of sultana.

With a spoon drop some batter into the hot oil (I used rice bran oil) and cook on both sides; it only takes a couple of minutes.

Place the fritters on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

These fritters taste better cold, and they are lovely and naturally sweet, full of protein, low in fat and gluten free. Perfect for Vegan lunch boxes ;-).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

My Sweet and Spicy Tomato Chutney

Ingredients

1 kg tomatoes

1 red onion

3 fresh chillies, finely sliced

3 garlic cloves, peeled

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

4 tbsp sultana

250 ml white vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp hot chilli powder (optional)

1 cinnamon quill

5 cloves

400 g sugar

1 apple

Wash the tomatoes and dice into 2 or 3 cm pieces. Peel and chop the onion and dice into 1 cm pieces. Place the vegetables in a large saucepan with the chillies, garlic cloves and ginger.

Bring to simmer, stirring often, and when the tomatoes are starting to break add the sultanas, vinegar, salt, hot chilli powder (if using), cinnamon and cloves. Bring back to simmer point and then add the sugar.

Stir well until the sugar is dissolved, then add the apple, also diced into 2 or 3 cm pieces, but not peeled (apple peel contain pectin, a setting agent). Keep stirring and simmer until the apple becomes soft, but not mushy.

Add some fresh chillies if you like and simmer for five more minutes.

Place the hot chutney into sterilised jars (dried in the oven), then let it cool down and close with the capsule lids. Place the jars in a pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the jars. Let the jars cool down in the pot overnight and when they are cold make sure that the capsule has popped by pressing gently on the lid. Store in a dark place and then, once opened, in the fridge.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©