These little sweet almond tarts are absolutely delicious! Called ‘ Bocconotti’, they are a specialty of Puglia in the far south east of Italy.
Bocconoti are melt- in-the mouth tarts made with puff pastry and an almond and limoncello filling. In Puglia they can be made with different fillings , often with different jams. These ones are particular favourites since I first tasted them in a pasticceria in Gallipoli, the old island town joined by a causeway to the mainland in Puglia's far south. Almonds and lemons are signature flavours of the south so the "pasta reale" ( royal paste ) filling brings back warm memories of that part of the world.
- Ingredients
- 350 gr very good quality puff pastry
- 250 gr ground almonds
- 200 gr raw caster sugar
- 3 organic eggs, separated
- juice and zest from 1 organic lemon
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and a pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup limoncello ( optional)
pre heat oven to 180˚
butter 6 x10cm pie forms
cut strips of greaseproof paper and lay across the pie dishes, this makes it easy to remove the bocconotti from the pie dish
spread the puff pastry over the pie bases and press it gently down
beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy
add the rest of the ingredients and beat the egg whites separately
gently fold in the egg whites
distribute the filling into the 6 pie dishes
bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until golden
serve a little glass of limoncello with the bocconotti
