FoodBanter.com - View Single Post - cultures-ostia recipe

brooklyn1

On Wed, 30 Mar 2016 06:00:26 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

>On Thursday, October 3, 1991 at 1:31:14 PM UTC-4, wrote:
>> cultures (was Joy of Cooking)
>>
>> For all who have have asked that I post the recipe for Ostia here it is. I
>> really hope you can find all the ingredients.
>>
>> 2-4 boxes of hosts
>>
>> 3-4 lbs walnuts --you may need more depending on the honey and the size of the
>> walnut chunks
>> 3 lbs honey
>> 1/2 lb Hershey's chocolate (either plain or almond) can also use 1 lb of
>> chocolate if you are a real chocoholic--I am
>> cinnamon to taste
>>
>> Note: I find the hosts at a local Italian specialty store. They come from
>> Germany and look just like a large communion host--about 3 inches across.
>> They are made from flour and water and pressed in special iron form. I
>> really don't know if you can substitute anything else. I am here at work
>> and if anybody tries this recipe and can't find the hos We used to make our
>> I will send the German address so they can be ordered.
>> own hosts from an iron that was specially made and purchased in Italy by
>> some very close friends. But, this is a real miserable chore and gets your
>> stove top very messy.
>>
>> By the way, the word Ostia means host in Italian
>> --at least in our southern Italian.
>>
>> Hand chop the walnuts to a medium-small chunk--should look about this big
>> _
>> [_] maybe a little smaller
>> If you can buy them already chopped that is okay also.
>>
>> In a large and heavy pot pour the honey. (I usually use a non-stick or
>> stainless steel pot--not aluminum or cast iron finishes.) Gently bring the
>> honey to a boil until it foams decrease the heat a little and then skim off
>> the sticky foam that forms around the edges until you have all of it or at
>> least the majority of it.
>>
>> Break the hershey bar into pieces and add to the hot honey. Stir until the
>> majority of the cholocate is melted--it will never really stir into the honey.
>>
>> Add the chopped walnuts and cinnamon. Use as much as you want. I usually use
>> about 1/4 cup cinnamon because we like the taste. You may need to use more
>> walnuts if
>> the mixture is runny. It should be very thick with very little hot honey
>> running off the spoon. Stir well until everything is mixed. Turn the heat
>> down to the lowest setting that will keep the mixture warm and be careful
>> to not let the mixture scorch--which it will readily do if the heat is too
>> high. You need to keep the mixture warm while you are working and making the
>> cookies.
>>
>> On one side of a host gently spread approximately 1 tbs of the mixture covering
>> the majority of the host. Place another host on top, then invert the cookie
>> and place on a flat pan such as a cookie sheet. (The ostia lookes like a white
>> host sandwich.)
>> Continue in this manner,lining up the cookies on the pan until one layer is
>> made.
>> Cover with wax paper. Then continue making the cookies and the layers until you
>> have about 4 or 5 layers. Cover the last layer with wax paper. Place a
>> heavy something on top of everything--I use two thick encyclopedia books. This
>> is to keep the ostias from curling. The hot honey mixture makes the hosts curl
>> up.
>>
>> Now, if you can stand it at this point, let the cookies "cure" for about
>> 1 week. I am really being optimistic about this. We love them so much
>> they hardly get to cure for 2 days. They do not need to be covered and do
>> not put them in a cookie jar or any other covered container as the hosts
>> become very soft and the honey begins to run. They will keep for a few months
>> so you can make them quite a bit in advance of when they are needed. We cut
>> the finished cookie--either with a very sharp knife or a pair of scissors--
>> into fourths as the it is rich
>>
>> This recipes makes a bunch of cookies--about 150 or so. So for just starters
>> I would cut it down to 1 lb of honey, 2 lbs of walnuts, cinnamon and just one
>> regular Hershey bar. I hope you all have good luck and enjoy!
>>
>> Diane M. Ferrell
>> Pueblo, CO
>
>You can order the hosts from Amazon. They are called Oblaten and are made in Germany

I don't see how that recipe will work, a mixture of honey and
chocolate will never firm up. I posted this in the past, I know it
works because I've made it several times... I didn't bother with the
ostia/wafer:
Soft Torrone
(Italian Christmas Nougat)

1 cup honey
2 egg whites
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 pound almonds,
shelled and blanched
1/2 pound hazelnuts,
shelled and lightly toasted
1 teaspoon candied orange peel, minced
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Place the honey in top of double boiler over boiling water for 1 to
1-1/2 hours, until honey is caramelized. Stir the honey frequently.
Beat egg whites until stiff. Slowly add to honey, mixing well. The
mixture will be foamy white. Combine sugar with 2 tablespoons of water
in small saucepan and let boil, without stirring, until caramelized.
Add caramelized sugar to honey mixture a little at a time, mixing
well. Cook mixture a little longer until it reaches the hard ball
stage. (A small drop turns hard when placed in a cup of cold water.)
Add nuts, candied orange peel and grated lemon rind. Mix well and
quickly before it hardens.

Immediately pour mixture two inches deep into two or three (depending
on size) loaf pans lined with parchment paper. Let cool 20 minutes.
Remove from pans and cut each slab into rectangular bars. You may make
one cut lengthwise down the center forming two torrone rectangles or
slice crosswise to make five or six smaller torrone bars. Wrap each
bar in aluminum foil or waxed paper and store at room temperature in
an airtight container. It keeps for a long time if wrapped well.

To serve, cut the torrone bar into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thin slices.
Serve with coffee or tea following a holiday meal.

Note:
Traditional torrone is sandwiched between two pieces of ostia or thin
sheets of unleavened wheat bread. Ostia is often called "wafer." I've
omitted this ingredient in the recipe, as it's hard-to-find. The
torrone I made was fine without it. But, if you can find "wafer" or
ostia at an Italian market, you may want to use it. In that case, you
would place a sheet of wafer on the bottom of each loaf pan before
pouring torrone mixture. Then top the torrone with another sheet of
wafer.

Recipe adapted from The Talisman Italian Cook Book by Ada Boni. Crown,
1950.
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