Bouna di San Valentino:

Romance is born in the spirit of your heart and is nurtured by the experiences of your life.  One of the finest places to nurture the sweetness of romance is Tuscany. 

Here you enjoy the beauty of a Tuscan sunset… a special passeggiata with your sweetheart… the romance of wineries and vineyards nestled on the Chianti hillsides… flowing fields of sunflowers   

and the beauty of romantic hill towns.  And of course, there is always the romance of the Vespa. Tuscany is a romantic paradise. Some believe there is no better place to celebrate the day tradition has set-aside for San Valentino than in this beautiful province of Italy.

While some Tuscan couples follow the tradition of visiting a ristorante or trattoria as part of the romantic celebration in honor of San Valentino, others prepare a special dinner at home.  Typically, the table is decorated with many candles and red roses. It is also Tuscan tradition that some of the home prepared foods include hot pepper and chocolate.

One of the traditional dishes, which is prepared in honor of San Valentino, is spaghetti with hot pepper.  To prepare it, put extra virgin olive oil, some cloves of garlic and anchovies into a large pan.  When the garlic turns a light gold color, add hot pepper, turn off the fire.  Add the parsley, coarsely chopped, and then, add the spaghetti “AL DENTE” mix together and serve.  This is a true Italian dish with the color of our flag.

It is also tradition to make a special cake called Cuore di Cioccolato for this special day.  For you, we have included the recipe in both Italian and English.

CUORE DI CIOCCOLATO

Ingredienti:   

·        4 uova

·        gr.120 zucchero

·        gr.300 cioccolato fondente al 70%

·        gr.35 mandorle in polvere (o tritate finemente)

·        gr.120 farina 00

·        gr.120 burro

·        un po’ di caffè istantaneo in polvere (NESCAFE)

·        g.150 di marmellata di arance

·        10 lamponi o scorze zuccherate di arancia

·        Petali di rose per decorare

·        Sale

·        ½ cucchiaino da caffé di lievito

Procedimento:

Accendere il forno a 180 gradi.

Sciogliere gr. 150 di  cioccolato a bagnomaria. Ammorbidire il burro e lavorarlo con metà dello zucchero, fino ad ottenere una crema soffice, aggiungere il cioccolato sciolto un cucchiaio per volta e continuare a mescolare,  aggiungere i tuorli di uovo 1 per volta. Montare a neve gli albumi con un po’ di sale e lo zucchero rimasto, unirlo all’impasto con il cioccolato, aggiungere la farina molto lentamente, la farina di mandorle ed il lievito.

Versare il composto in una teglia a forma di cuore e cuocere a 180 gr.per 30/45 minuti.

Quando il dolce è cotto sfornarlo e aspettare che si raffreddi. Tagliarlo a metà orizzontalmente per farcirlo. Spalmare sia le parti interne che l’esterno con la marmellata diluita con 2/3 cucchiai di acqua tiepida. Sciogliere il resto del cioccolato fondente e con la metà farcire la torta, il resto ricoprire la torta, decorare a piacere

(A PIACERE SI PUO’ AGGIUNGERE UN PO’ DI POVERE DI PEPERONCINO ALL’IMPASTO)

CUORE DI CIOCCOLATO

Ingredients:   

·        4 eggs

·        120 grams of sugar

·        300 grams of dark chocolate (70%)

·        .35 grams of almond powder (or finely chopped)

·        120 grams of flour grade 00

·        120 grams of butter 

·        a little powdered instant coffee (NESCAFE)

·        150 grams of orange marmalade

·        10 rasberries or sugared orange skins 

·        Rose petals for decoration

·        Salt

·        ½ teaspoon of powdered yeast

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Melt 150 grams of dark chocolate in a double boiler.  Soften the butter and work it with half of the sugar until it gets soft and creamlike.  Add the soft chocolate a spoon at a time and continue to mix adding the yolks of the eggs one at a time.  Whip the egg whites with a little salt and the remaining sugar, blending the mixture with the chocolate and add the flour, the almond powder and the yeast very slowly.

Pour the mixture in a heartshaped pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes.  When the cake is cooked, take it out and let it cool.  Cut the cake in half horizontally so that filling may be put in.  Spread marmalade (diluted with 2 or 3 spoons of warm water) on the inside parts and the cake.  Dissolve the rest of the chocolate. Use half to fill the cake and put the pieces together.  With the rest of the chocolate, decorate the cake.  Use rose petals for decoration.

(If it pleases you, add a little hot chilly powder to all the ingredients.)

To all we wish a most wonderful Valentine’s Day.  May the true spirit of romance be in your heart.

Ciao,

Simonetta, Edie and Dave

Casa Bellavista

FotoToscana

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