BIG TONI’S ITALIAN KITCHEN

When we visit my family in Frascati a beautiful town just outside Rome we love to buy Almond Biscotti which almost every bakery seems to sell, they are just delicious with a coffee in the morning or even better dipped in a glass of chilled Vin Santo after dinner or even after lunch, plenty of double dipping goes on here.

For 12 to 15 Biscotti you need:

220g plain flour

Salt, just a pinch

1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder

50g ground almonds

100g whole almonds

150g caster sugar

2 large 3 medium eggs, beaten

A few drops of vanilla extract

How to make:

Put the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, and then add the ground and whole almonds

Add the eggs and the Vanilla extract, and mix it together first with a spoon and then using your hands to bring the mixture together to form smooth dough. 

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and, using your hands, roll it into a log about 28cm long. 

Put it on the lined baking sheet and bake it near the centre of the oven for 30 minutes. After that, transfer it to a cooling tray and leave until completely cold.

Then reduce the oven temperature to 150°C, gas mark 2.

Now use a bread knife to cut the biscotti into slices about 1cm wide, place them back on the lined baking tray and bake for another 20 or so minutes until light gold and crisp.

Transfer them to the cooling tray and when cold store them in an airtight container but they are so yummy they will not be in there for very long.

Once cold, you can also dip half of each biscotti in melted dark chocolate leaving one side undipped. This adds another dimension and makes a wonderful treat with an espresso or without an expresso.

"Carnaroli'' is the king of risotto rice by Riso Gallo, an exceptional quality rice with large, full-bodied grains that encompasses six generations of passion and culture for rice.

From all good supermarkets.