Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti

CRANBERRY AND PISTACHIO BISCOTTI

I love cooking Italian, so I made two of my favourite Nigella recipes.  This is the first one, which can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container.

Biscotti in Italian means twice baked biscuits!

Ingredients:

1 egg

75 g caster sugar

2 tsp finely grated orange zest

125 g plain flour, plus more for rolling

1/2 tsp baking powder

Nutmeg - grated

75 g whole pistachio nuts

50 g dried cranberries

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C / gas mark 4

Whisk the egg and sugar until pale and moussy: the mixture should leave a ribbon-like trail when you lift the beater.

Beat in the orange zest, and then slowly fold in the flour, baking powder and a good grating of nutmeg.

Fold in the whole pistachios and dried cranberries, then flour your work surface well, also dusting your hands lightly with flour, as the dough is quite sticky.

Now form the dough into a flattish, oval ciabatta-like loaf, approx. 25 x 5 centimetres, tapering the ends slightly.

Lay the biscotti dough loaf onto a piece of baking parchment on a baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes, or until it is a pale brown colour.

Transfer to a wire rack and leave for 5 minutes to harden slightly, and then – using a bread knife or similar serrated-edged knife – cut the baked loaf diagonally into fingers about one centimetre thick.

Put these back onto the baking-parchment-covered sheet and cook again for another 10 minutes, then turn the biscotti over and cook for yet another five minutes. 

Let the golden brown biscotti cool on a rack and then store them in an airtight container.

Best dunked into espresso and the Italians like to also dunk theirs into a sweet dessert wine!