It's cold and the turrón wraps itself in some colored marzipan to celebrate the trip.
Tomorrow I'll be back at Oporto... :)




Chocolate and hazelnut turrón

Serves 10:
400 g hazelnut praliné
400 g dark chocolate
200 g hazelnut, finely chopped

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie.
Add the hazelnut praliné.
Let it cool down to 26-28ºC (tempering).
Add the hazelnuts.
Pour this mixture into lined moulds and place something heavy on top, or make a roll with the parchment paper, keeping the turrón tightly wrapped.
Reserve at room temperature until thick.
Cut as desired.
Decorate with marzipan.


Marzipan:

1 kg almond, powdered
500 g icing sugar
1 kg sugar
450 g corn syrup
350 g water

In a mixer combine well the icing sugar with the powdered almond.
Prepare a syrup with sugar, corn syrup and water until 114-117ºC.
Gently pour the syrup into the almond mixture while mixing.
Grind until desired.

Marzipan may be colored with food coloring.

Labels: chocolate, christmas, hazelnut, recipes, turron

Romantic and melancholic, Fall always tastes like sunset...
The decline of days in a warm colours degradé and bigger nights escort my increasing sleep.
Cold's arrival doesn't cheer me up... I always feel some ceremony with coats and unconfortable with this restart.
Nevertheless I can't avoid the dry leaves crackling, some rain kisses and my crush on chestnuts...




Chestnut gnocchi with hazelnut and milk chocolate sauce

Makes 65 gnocchi:

250 g chestnuts, peeled
250 ml whole milk
10 g butter
50 g wheat flour
30 g sugar
12 g manchego cheese, grated
1 egg yolk

Water to cook the gnocchi
1 vanilla bean
25 g butter
40 g icing sugar

Combine the butter with the vanilla seeds.

Bring the chestnuts and milk to low heat for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked.
Purée the chestnuts.
While warm combine the chestnut purée with all the other ingredients.
Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough in a ball on the work surface.
Roll out the dough into a 3 cms wide rope. Cut this rope into 3 cms pieces.
Gently place the tines of a fork over each gnocchi.


Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
Add the gnocchi.
Gnocchi are cooked when they start to float.
Sauté with butter and vanilla and sprinke with icing sugar.


Hazelnut and chocolate milk sauce

200 g milk chocolate, chopped
100 g cream
50 g hazelnuts

Pre-heat the oven to 150ºC.
Spread the hazelnuts over a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.
Wrap the hazelnuts with a kitchen cloth and scrub to peel.
Grind the hazelnuts while warm to paste.
Combine the hazelnut paste with chocolate.
Bring the cream to boil.
Pour the cream into the hazelnut chocolate mixture and stir well.


Place the gnocchi on a plate and serve with the hazelnut and milk chocolate sauce.
Decorate with roasted hazelnuts.
Serve immediately.

Labels: gnocchi, hazelnut, milk chocolate, recipes