Comfort cooking: Snow 4

Eighteen days to go, and entirely typically, I haven’t started my Christmas shopping. I have made the cake, the puddings and the mincemeat though. And today, we made some Christmas presents too. I can’t recommend this panforte recipe too highly: It’s quite hard to make yourself give it away. If you decide to make some for your nearest and dearest, they’ll love you forever. The halva’s pretty good too.

When we first made this recipe, we were in France, hiding from the snow. Now we’re in England, hiding from the rain. You’ll know about the devastating floods that have hit Cumbria. We too have flooding, but nothing like so serious. Closed roads, large lakes where there ought to be farmers’ fields, and mud, mud, everywhere. Just the weather for licking the bowl out after a serious session in the kitchen.

From Pyrenees to Pennines

I’m getting a bad case of cabin fever at the moment.  The snow is turning to hard packed ice and/or slush and is not much fun to walk on.  We’re not getting out much. So I’ve turned to comfort cooking.

About a week ago, my favourite food blogger, David Lebovitz wrote about his take on that wonderfully decadent Italian treat, Panforte.  Two days after that, Kalba’s blog dropped into my in-box.  She’d been tweaking his recipe whilst hiding from the snow on her side of the Ariège.  Today it was my turn- and here’s my tweaked recipe

  • 40g unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting the tin
  • 200g chopped toasted nuts- I used the hazelnuts I gathered with some friends early last Autumn, and the last of my walnuts
  • 100g chopped dried prunes
  • 110g flour
  • 200g chopped candied orange peel
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1…

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

12 thoughts on “Comfort cooking: Snow 4”

  1. This does sound like just the right way to spend a bad-weather day! I’m glad you aren’t getting the worst of the flooding but it still sounds like a big mess. We have had a very mild, snow-free and almost rain-free year so far . . . it’s very strange.

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    1. I know. I don’t like it. I want a freezing cold nose and crisp grass underfoot. And they said we’d have an extra-cold winter too. Perhaps it’s all to come.

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  3. Hi Margaret (and Angela!), I couldn’t find it either, so clicked on Responses, to see where I’d gone wrong. And there it was – well, part of it. So, clicked on View Original, where I found both recipes. Thank you. Looking forward to seeing you next week!

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    1. It IS a good recipe, and a nice stocking filler as well. We only have floods in the roads and on the fields, so we are quite well off. Carlisle residents have a dreadful time in prospect – again.

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  5. It looks and sounds delicious – I love European foods, I may have to try this. Glad you are all safe from the flooding.

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    1. We are, thank you. If a little soggy round the edges. Yes, do try the panforte. Kid yourself that with all those dried fruit and nuts it’s really a health food!

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      1. Sounds like my desert!! 😉 We have had a strange autumn – spring weather, flower bulbs coming up, birds and squirrels all over the place and warm weather – not sure what to make of it. We may have a green Christmas this year. We even had “frozen fog” – that is a new on me. Anyway – Merry Christmas and a blessed and joyous New Year!

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