Discover with us how to cook Italian Wine Biscuits, a typical, tasty, and easy-to-make recipe, to celebrate the arrival of the new wine
At San Martino every grape wort becomes wine, thus celebrating the ancient saying that every year, on November 11th, returns to celebrate the feast of San Martino, patron saint of wine and protector of winemakers, a feast that defined the end of the harvest season in the fields and where in the culture of the past new wine, fresh cured meats and typical sweets were brought to the table.
In this article we’ll explain to you how to cook Italian Wine Biscuits (Ciambelline al vino), typical sweets of the Lazio region tradition, tasty and easy to make. On November 8th of each year, coinciding with the feast of San Martino, according to the Italian food calendar, the National Day of Ciambelline al vino is celebrated; so, come with us and discover the history, origins and how to cook Italian Wine Biscuits (ciambelline al vino).
How to cook Italian Wine Biscuits?
Known in Lazio region as 'mbriachelle, the Italian Wine Biscuits (ciambelline al vino) are a famous recipe particularly in the Castelli Romani and Ciociaria areas. The origins of this recipe are very ancient, the custom among the people was to consume the Italian Wine Biscuits (ciambelline al vino), as a dessert at the end of the meal, soaked in a glass of wine, hence the name 'mbriachelle (drunk), a name which however could also be linked to the fact that there is wine in the dough.
The Italian Wine Biscuits (ciambelline al vino) were a welcome gift at Christmas, everyone made them according to the availability of their pantry. They were usually prepared with flour, sugar, oil, anise seeds and wine, which could be white or red, or even grape wort, as in Marino's famous recipe (Castelli Romani). The Italian Wine Biscuits (ciambelline al vino) were prepared with the arrival of the new wine, in the days around November 11th and the summer of San Martino, an atmospheric phenomenon that takes place in the autumn period in which, after the first cold weather, climatic conditions occur of good weather.
Italian Wine Biscuits: the original recipe
How to cook the Italian Wine Biscuits (ciambelline al vino)? These biscuits, dry, crumbly and delicious, ideal for both breakfast and dessert at the end of the meal, are a very easy recipe to make, where there is almost no need to use scales. Discover with us the ingredients and the procedure for how to cook Italian Wine Biscuits (ciambelline al vino) according to the original recipe.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon anise seeds
1 glass of white or red wine
1 glass of olive oil
1 glass of granulated sugar
Approximately 300 grams of flour
1 pinch of bicarbonate
Let the anise seeds rest for 15 minutes in a bowl together with the glass of wine. You can choose whether to use a white or red wine, it will clearly change both the taste and the final color of your biscuits. Then add the oil, the sugar, the pinch of bicarbonate of soda and finally the flour, a little at a time until the dough becomes elastic (it should not be sticky). Let the dough rest for half an hour under a cloth. Then take the dough again and on the work surface make some loaves about 20 cm long. You need to roll up each loaf and join its ends, creating a donut. Dip each donut in sugar and arrange all the Italian Wine Biscuits (ciambelline al vino) on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Cook for about half an hour on the middle shelf of the oven at a temperature of 175°. Let them cool before serving. Here are your Italian Wine Biscuits (ciambelline al vino) ready.
Cooking lesson in Rome❯The variations: Marino grape wort biscuits recipe
There are many variations of Italian Wine Biscuits (ciambelline al vino), one of these are the Biscuits with grape wort from Marino, one of the Castelli romani, a stone's throw from Rome. A historical anecdote is also dedicated to this variant of the original recipe, it tells us that this dessert was so good that it became a symbol of Marino city and that when Cola di Rienzo invaded the small town, a mule loaded with two baskets full of grape wort biscuits was enough to send him away.
The procedure for making biscuits with grape wort is identical to that of the original Italian Wine Biscuits (ciambelline al vino) recipe in the previous paragraph, the only difference is that you will insert grape wort instead of wine. The grape wort represents one of the first phases of wine processing, it is that dense and cloudy liquid that occurs after pressing the grapes. If you managed to make them like a local, then come and take a tour of Rome to taste all kinds of Italian Wine Biscuits (ciambelline al vino).
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