21 October 2024
Mini almond pound cakes, parmesan crackers, “honeyed” breadsticks. Delicious, light snacks coming up!
Why choose organic products? There is undoubtedly more flavor and more health benefits in organic food, in particular in the use of flours and semolina Made in Europe, and especially Made in Italy products. It’s an easy choice with “Pure Flour From Europe“, the international project supported by ITALMOPA (the Italian Milling Industry Association) and co-funded by the European Union, which promotes the export of organic soft wheat and durum wheat flours and semolina to Canada and the USA, sharing all their useful tips and secrets for healthy and tasty eating. Organic cooking means, first and foremost, taking care of yourself and your physical well-being, but also the health of the planet. Choosing to cook with organic flours and semolina means using products grown with respect for nature, and following a sustainable, healthy and environmentally conscious lifestyle without sacrificing any of the taste.
What’s more, having a healthy diet does not mean going hungry or giving up rich and delicious dishes. The fundamental rules of five daily meals are as follows: snack on healthy and sustaining foods, both sweet and savory, preferably made at home using organic flours and semolina. Let’s face it, snacks are so delicious it’s hard to stop eating them!
But you can enjoy tasty guilt-free snacking with the following recipes from “Pure Flour From Europe”. Three healthy snacks for when hunger strikes between meals: mini almond pound cakes, Parmesan crackers and “honeyed” breadsticks, which provide between 7 and 10% of our daily energy requirement. They give that small boost of energy that staves off hunger but leaves you with an appetite for your main meal. So delicious, they can satisfy even the most demanding palates.
Mini almond pound cakes
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
Ingredients for ten mini pound cakes
- 1.2 cups Italian type ‘00’ flour
- 0.3 cup of re-milled durum wheat semolina
- 3 eggs
- 0.75 cup of sugar
- 1.35 cups of finely chopped almonds
- 0.6 cup of plain yoghurt
- 0.22 cup of butter
- 1 sachet baking powder
- flaked almonds
- sugar sprinkles
- icing sugar
In a bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the yoghurt and butter – at room temperature – mix well and then add the sifted flour and baking powder, semolina and almonds. Stir the mixture for a couple of minutes until it is smooth and lump-free. Pour the mixture into buttered and floured mini loaf tins. Scatter over sugar sprinkles and almond flakes. Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes and dust the mini cakes with plenty of icing sugar.
Parmesan crackers
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
Ingredients for 30 crackers
- 2.34 cups of Italian type ‘00’ flour
- ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese (50 for the dough and 10 for dusting)
- ¼ tbsp fine salt
- 0.6 cup of water
- 0.3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 egg yolk
Combine the flour with the grated cheese and salt in a bowl. Add the extra virgin olive oil and water. Knead the mixture until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin or a pasta machine, and with a pastry cutter wheel make crackers of the desired size. We recommend 2¼ inches by 3 inches. Prick the surface with a fork, brush lightly with the egg yolk mixed with a tablespoon of water (it will stop the crackers from browning too much), and sprinkle the surface with the rest of the Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350°F for about twenty minutes, until they are golden brown.
“Honeyed” semolina breadsticks
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 25 minutes
Ingredients for 30 breadsticks
- 1 tbsp fresh brewer’s yeast
- 0.6 cup of water
- 2.4 cups of organic semolina
- 2 ½ tbsp honey
- 0.33 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
Method
First dissolve the yeast in a little warm water. Put the semolina in a bowl, add the yeast mixture and honey and then knead. Trickle in the oil, add the salt and knead until you get a smooth and elastic dough. Place in a well-oiled container, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least three hours until it doubles in size. Then place the mixture on a lightly floured pastry board and roll it out with a rolling pin, to a thickness of one centimetre. Using a knife, cut the dough into strips ½ inch wide and gently roll using your hands to form rounded breadsticks. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spaced well apart, and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until golden brown.