Hazelnut Semifreddo with Chocolate Sauce

I love semifreddo, that partially frozen, creamy dessert. This recipe features a semifreddo made with hazelnuts, and a delicious, dark chocolate sauce.

• !/4 pound hazelnuts; lightly toasted and skins removed
  
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
  
• 2 Tablespoons water
  
  
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  
  
• 3 large egg whites
  
  
• 3 ounces of best quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
  pinch of salt

For the Semifreddo:
Line eight 1/2-cup ramekins or custard cups with plastic wrap, leaving 3 inches of overhang. Preheat the oven to 350°.

Make a hazelnut brittle:
Make a simple syrup, using 1/2 cup sugar and the water. As you cook the syrup, brush the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until a deep golden brown.

Immediately remove the syrup from the heat and stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon. Pour and scrape the mixture onto an oiled sheet pan and cool until hard.

Break the hardened praline into pieces and process in a food processor until finely ground, or nearly a powder.

Whip 1 cup of heavy cream until it holds firm peaks. Whip the egg whites until they are stiff and hold glossy peaks, gradually adding in the remaining sugar. Fold in the praline powder, followed by the whipped cream. Pour into the custard cups and cover with the overhanging wrap. Freeze until firm.

For the Chocolate Sauce:
Bring the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream to a gentle boil in a heavy saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate. Stir in the vanilla and a tiny pinch of salt and let the sauce cool in the refrigerator until thick. This will take about 1 hour.

Pour around the semifreddo and serve.

Cioccolato Caldo

I love to drink hot chocolate in Florence, at Rivoire, at Vestri, at Hemingway, or at the lovely cafe in the Boboli Gardens. Our hot chocolate is famous for being as thick as pudding, and not too sweet.

Many recipe for Cioccolato Caldo call for a thickening agent such as cornstarch, or potato starch. These aren't for me; I hate the starchy taste. Instead, I prefer a recipe like the one below that uses real chopped chocolate to create the right thickness. Drink this, if you dare, topped with fresh whipped cream!

• 5 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder
  
  
• 2 tablespoons sugar
  
  
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
  
  
• 2 cups milk

Mix the cocoa, the sugar and 1/4 cup of the milk in a small sauce pan. Heat and whisk the mixture until it is blended and smooth. Bring to a low boil and still whisking, add the rest of the milk.

Turn off the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. You can reheat this mixture a bit if it has cooled.

Chocolate Ganache Tart

This rich and tasty tart is deceptively simple to make. The ingredients are few, and outside of the good chocolate, they are pantry staples. But it tastes as though it came from the finest pastry shop in Italy. Try it and see if everyone loves it as much as we do.

Pasta Frolla (see below)

• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  
  
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
  
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl. Heat the cream to a boil and pour over the chopped chocolate. Stir until very smooth, then add the vanilla.

Pour the chocolate mixture (after it has reached a lukewarm temperature) into the baked crust. Let cool until hardened. Serve with a little whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Pasta Frolla alle Mandorle

This delicious shortcrust recipe comes from the teachers and chefs at The Good Tastes of Tuscany Cooking School. You can read about the school at www.tuscany-cooking-class.com

• 250 grams of flour
  
  
• 125 grams of sugar
  
  
• 100 grams of unsalted butter, in small pieces
  
  
• 30 grams of finely chopped almonds
  
  
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  
  
• Pinch of salt

"The trick to this pastry is that it should not be worked too much with the hands; otherwise, it will break; it will not stay together."

Blend the ingredients with a pastry cutter, spatula or knife, as the warmth from the hands will create a tougher pastry.

Mix the flour, sugar and almonds and form a small mound with a dip in the center. Place the butter, eggs, and salt in the well or dip, and quickly blend them together. Just as quickly, form the mixture into a ball of dough, and cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate the dough for one hour before rolling out and baking.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 1 round, to fit a tart pan with a removable bottom. Transfer the dough carefully to the pan and trim. Prick the dough with a fork and fill with beans or pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes. You want this crust to be an even golden brown. It should be baked through.

Amedei Chocolates
Manufactured in Pisa

The brother and sister team of Alessio and Cecilia Tessieri began the Amedei Chocolate company in 1990, naming their endeavor after their grandmother. Neither sibling had any experience in chocolate making, but they wanted to create something special, and their passion led them to succeed.

Amedei produces extremely high quality chocolate, using only the finest cocoa beans from Central and South America. They make 5 types of chocolate bars or tablets, including the ultra luxurious Porcelana. Amedei also produces fine chocolate treats, such as filled chocolates.
The Amedei factory is located in Pisa and run by Cecilia Tessieri. Alessio travels, searching the world for the finest beans and best production methods. Amedio also is very concerned with the conditions of the farmers from whom he buys, and campaigns for fair treatment and living conditions for them and their workers.

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Espace Mannori
Prato

World champion patisserie Luca Mannori, from Prato, has created a retail/cafe space there that not only sells his products, but will also hopefully be used to educate and entertain.

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Salza Chocolates
Pisa

In 1800, Federico Salza was the proprietor of a fine pastry and chocolate shop in Torino. He also commanded the first industrial production site, Sole Venchi, of tablets of chocolate in Italy. Today, Salza chocolate is made in Pisa and is coveted by chocolate lovers everywhere.

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Vestri
Florence

Vestri of Florence started chocolate production in the 1970s. According to their website, the chocolate is made "in a small artisan laboratory where the chocolate is still melted in copper pots."

In the early 90's the small laboratory was moved to the current location. The best chocolates from Vestri are, in my opinion, the coffee ones.

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Some of my favorite places to enjoy chocolate in Florence:

Hemingway
Piazza Piattellina, 9/r
Tel: 055.284-781

This chic cafe in the Oltrarno features every sort of chocolate treat. You can try chocolates from several of Tuscany's top makers, as well as incredibly delicious chocolate pastries and cakes. You might even want to wash it all down with cioccolato caldo!

Rivoire
Piazza della Signoria 5

Cafe Rivoire on the Piazza della Signoria is justly famous for its cioccolato caldo, and quite as famous for its splendid position here in Florence. One can buy all sorts of chocolates and pastries in the cafe, or sit outside and watch the wonderful passing parade in the piazza, while sipping on Rivoire's famous hot chocolate.

As you may have been able to deduce from the names of the great chocolate masters and their locations listed above, from Florence to Pisa is an area that is beginning to be know as the "Chocolate Valley." These masters, and many of the towns in which they are headquartered, are promoting this idea, just as Chianti vintners promote their area. The food press, too, refers to the area from Pisa to Prato (we include Florence) as the Chocolate Valley.

Among the list of chocolate makers in the Chocolate Valley are Mannori, the pastry chef; Federico Salza of Pisa; Simone de Castro of Montpoli, outside of Pisa; Andre Slitti of Monsummano Terme near Pistoia; Corsini of Pistoia; Paul de Bondt from Pisa; and the father of chocolate production in Tuscany, Roberto Catanari.

In trade shows and exhibitions, these and others are bringing our great Tuscan chocolate to light. They are hoping that just as we are known for our art and our wine, we will come to be known for our chocolate. The Municipality of Monsummano Terme, the Province of Pistoia, and Slow Food of Pistoia have, working together, organized events that promote these chocolatiers, and they are working together of the project of promoting the "Via del Cioccolato." Just as the wine roads define itineraries for wine lovers, the Via del Cioccolato will create itineraries where chocolate lovers can taste, purchase and view production of chocolate products. It's a great idea, and one that our fine chocolate masters deserve the benefit of.