The Veneto region, comprising the islands of Venice, and a
vast, dry land territory covering Padova, Verona, and
Vicenza was largely an agricultural area dedicated to
farming of corn, soft wheat, and fruits and vegetables
during the pre-industrial age. Money was scarce, and
families survived largely on the fruits of their labor,
fish from the Venetian lagoon, and a diet creatively
designed around those organic grains, like corn, that were
in abundance. Meats were considered a luxury. In fact,
cured meats and salamis were a solution to the lack of
refrigeration and provided a hearty alternative to the
otherwise "poor" diet.
Thus, the organic baking traditions reflected not only the
antique traditions, but also the organic ingredients most
readily available. Converting corn into polenta for the
dinner table or a sweet cookie for the desert table
represented the marriage of necessity to nutrition. In
fact, most of the traditional Venetian organic cookies are
dry, rather than moist, given the scarcity of organic
ingredients, the difficulty in conserving them, and the
palette preferences of the Venetians for a drier organic
cookie. Many of the desert and organic cookie recipes were
secret, passed down through the maternal side, and often
nicknamed "biscotti della nonna" or "grandmother's cookies"
to represent their homemade origins. The organic cookies
were jealously conserved in lovely tin or wood boxes, next
to the crystal bottles of rose oil, walnut liqueur, or
citron liqueur.
Corn and wheat were organic grains that, at the time,
produced according to what we consider today as organic
farming. Today, these same recipes are replicated as
organic cookies, a healthy alternative to conventional
practices, which respect the environment and do not employ
the use of pesticides. These sweet organic treats have
been made for centuries, although never too sweet, as it
was the homemaker's intention to let the organic
ingredients speak for themselves, whereas sugar was an
expensive indulgence.
This traditional, organic cookie recipe is easy to prepare:
Zaeti
Zaeti in Venetian Dialect translates to "gialetti" in
Italian, or "small yellow cookies", a nickname given for
the fact that they are made of yellow corn flour, an
element common to every family kitchen in the region, and
therefore a sign of their rusticity. To make them more
"genteel", tradition called for the addition of wheat
flour, sugar and raisins.
Organic Food Ingredients: 7/8 cup of flour, 1 1/3 cup of
finely ground corn flour, an abundant half cup of sugar, an
abundant half cup of unsalted butter,2 eggs, ¼ cup
of raisins, one half ounce of yeast, 1 grated lemon,
½ of a small glass of grappa, a dash of salt, 2
tablespoons of flour for the workspace, 4 tablespoons of
lightly sifted confectioner's sugar.
Place the raisins in tepid water for 10 minutes to soften
them. Drain the water and gently wring them with your
hands to remove the excess water. Put them in a bowl and
add the grappa to "bathe" them for approx 20 minutes. Then
drain the grappa and dry them with a very clean kitchen
towel.
Sift the wheat and corn flour together with the yeast and
salt and place in a bowl. Add the beaten eggs, and the
melted butter. Mix with a fork and add the raisins.
(Before adding the raisins, to make sure they don't fall to
the bottom of the mixture, follow this procedure: lightly
dust them with 2 tablespoons of flour). Add the sugar and
the grated lemon peel.
Mix until the dough becomes homogenous. Lay the dough out
on a lightly floured workspace, and roll it out to a
thickness of just less than ½ an inch. Using the
rolling pin to help you, and using a knife, cut out long
ovals about 2 inches in length.
Place them on a baking sheet, not too close together, and
bake in a 350 ° oven for 20 minutes. Once cooled, dust
them with the confectioner's sugar and serve together with
your favorite liqueur.
Enjoy these organic, Venetian sweets and please your family
and friends with them by bringing antique traditions to
your table, just as the Venetians have done for centuries.
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By Heather Bettendorf - President, PRIMA Organic Foods (
http://www.PRIMAOrganic.com ) - Offering gourmet organic
cookies from Italy. Our organic foods include unique
organic cookie formulations containing Italian Almond,
Natural Lemon, Venetian Classic, and Sunny Vanilla.
