Espresso must be tipped from a tiny cup, in a crowded train station, standing up. Other methods exist, but they aren’t as stylish.
Lucia taught me. Actually, it was her mom. We’d ditched our dreary dorm and turned up at her family’s place in Perugia. At midnight, a carload of cousins met our train. We swerved up a steep road and tumbled out to a long table, bright with candles, heavy with wine bottles, fragrant with oranges and pistachios.
Lacking the language, I followed along: Mornings: market. Afternoons: kitchen. Evenings: table, candles, wine, oranges and pistachios. On the weekend, in Rome, her grandfather showed me old photos and her grandmother, in exasperation, urged: “Parla italiano! E facile!”
Then Lucia’s mom packed us into the car, careened around corners and lurched to a stop at the station. She walked her stippled leather boots across the hall, ordered an espresso and downed it, standing up.
I’ve always minded that lesson. Sometimes I embellish with a crisp orange/pistachio bite. It’s as close as I get to speaking Italian. As promised: It goes down easy.
Pistachio Biscotti
Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 1 hour
Makes: About 2 dozen
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup almond flour (aka almond meal)
1 tsp. baking powder
4 Tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 cup roasted, salted pistachios (no shells)
1/4 cup sanding sugar
Mix: Whisk together flour, almond flour and baking powder. Set aside.
Fluff: Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, vanilla and zest, 1 minute. Beat in flour mixture. On low speed, mix in nuts.
Shape: Divide dough in two. Heap one portion onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. With lightly floured hands, shape into a low loaf, about 7 inches long, 4 inches wide and ¾-inch high. Sprinkle with half the sanding sugar, pressing it lightly into the top of the loaf. Repeat, shaping another loaf with remaining dough on a second baking sheet.
Bake: Slide baking sheets into a 300-degree oven and bake until set, 30 minutes. Let cool.
Slice: Use a serrated knife to slice each loaf crosswise into ½-inch thick slices. Tip slices over, cut-sides down on the parchment.
Crisp: Slide pans back into a 300-degree oven and bake until golden and dry (but not hard), about 13 minutes per side. Cool. Enjoy with espresso.
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