THEo Zelten is a highly decorated traditional dessert. You don’t want to overdo it by bringing it to the table on a baroque or patterned plate! Rather, dare with red and green for ceramics that underline the Christmas atmosphere (but only if you don’t like a nice neutral almond color).
INGREDIENTS FOR 4:
1 pinch of salt, 200 g dried figs, 120 g raisins, 80 g rum, 80 g peeled almonds, 80 g toasted hazelnuts, 80 g walnut kernels, 30 g diced candied orange, 30 g diced candied citron, 60 g pine nuts, the zest of 1 untreated lemon, the zest of 1 untreated orange, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon of allspice, 1/2 teaspoon of powdered cloves, 50 g honey, 30 g muscat or vin santo, 80 g flour type 0, 50 g rye flour, 1 teaspoon anise powder, 1 teaspoon caraway powder (kümmel or caraway), 20 g sugar, 80 g water, 15 g fresh brewer’s yeast. To complete: whole peeled almonds, shelled walnuts and hazelnuts, cherries, candied citron and orange, 50 g sugar, 50 g wildflower honey
Procedure
Twelve hours before making the dessert, remove the stems from the figs and cut them into stripsthen place them in a large bowl, add the raisins and rum. Also cut the almonds and hazelnuts into strips and coarsely chop the walnut kernels. Pour these ingredients into the bowl together with the orange, citron, pine nuts and citrus peels.
Zelten is the sweet holiday bread typical of Trentino. Recipe and photos by Davide Zambelli, taken from “A little more up. My mountain cuisine” (Gribaudo)
Finish with the spicesthen cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Heat the honey together with the white wineand also pour these two ingredients into the bowl. Mix and leave to rest overnight, covering with a plate.
The next day, mix the flours, spices and sugar in a bowladd the warm water in which you have dissolved the yeast and mix, complete with salt and knead with your hands until you obtain a homogeneous and smooth mixture. Transfer it to a bowl covered with cling film and let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours. Then add all the dried fruit and mix.
Divide the dough into 4 parts and give the shape you likeshaping it on a sheet of baking paper with moistened hands. Let the zelten rest for an hour, covering them with a slightly damp cloth. Preheat the oven to 160°C in static mode, decorate the zelten with dried fruit to taste, brush with the syrup obtained by mixing sugar, honey and 70 g of water and bake.
“A little higher. My mountain cuisine (for all seasons)” by Davide Zambelli (Gribaudo)
Remember that every 10 minutes you will have to brush more honey mixture on the zelten, so it will caramelize. The total cooking time should correspond to 40-45 minutes. Once ready, let the zelten cool, then wrap them in cling film and store them in the cupboard.
The air of Trentino
He loves his Trentino mountains Davide Zambellifood creator who in A little higher. My mountain cuisine (for all seasons) (Gribaudo) tells it in 80 recipes. From goulash to dumplings, from trout meatballs to mountain pine risotto. Creative flashes and tradition: the book is dedicated to grandmother Lina.
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