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Recipe for an old Italian pastry/dessert!

post #1 of 4
12/13/09 at 9:55am
Thread Starter 
For many years when I was growing up, my grandmother made a delicious Italian pastry item that she called "Luchatha" (although I'm not even sure I'm spelling it correctly!).

When she died, her entire recipe book disappeared, and I desperately would like to get the recipe again for my family. Basically, it looks similar to a Stromboli in its shape (but much slimmer), but it's made very differently from what I remember.

Here's what I do remember of the recipe: She used flaky pastry dough, rolled it out, and then spread one of two options for the inside: either an apple pie-like filling and included raisins and crushed nuts; OR it was made with Swiss Chard and raisins and nuts. But I don't know the specifics of the recipe, what seasonings were used, how to prepare the inside fillings, baking time, etc., etc.

I could really use all your help please! If anyone knows of the recipes, can you please post it for me? Or give me a suggestion on where I could find these recipes?

Thank you!! :smiles:
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post #2 of 4
12/13/09 at 10:03am

Cuccidata?

kahnick:

Could it be this:

CUCCIDATI


Ingredients

Filling


2 ½ - 3 cups apple butter
¾ cup semisweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup dark raisins soaked in rum or Marsala, then drained
½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
¼ cup dark rum or Marsala
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp grated orange zest

Pastry Recipe

3 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
12 Tbs butter (1 ½ sticks), cold
2 large eggs
2 to 3 Tbs milk
pinch salt


Directions

Filling: Mix ingredients together. Mixture should be thick so it doesn't seep out of the pastry dough when sealed. Taste and adjust to your liking.

Pastry: Combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl and stir to mix.

Rub in the butter, creating a powdery mixture.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs and 2 tablespoons of the milk and stir this into the flour mixture to form a dough. If the dough is too dry add the extra tablespoon of milk. Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly a few times. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill while preparing the filling.


Flour the work surface and the dough lightly. Divide the dough into 3 piece.

With rolling pin roll out each piece into a cylinder around 1/8 of an inch thick. Cut out round discs about 3 inches in diameter.

Egg wash inside edge and fill with a heaping teaspoon or so of filling. Fold over and crimp with a fork to seal.


Place about a ½ inch apart on parchment lined baking/cookie sheets.
Bake the filled cookies in a preheated 350˚oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until they are light golden in color.

Cool on racks. Store in tins between layers of wax paper.



Sugar Glaze Cookie Topping

½ cup powdered sugar
Milk

Colored Sprinkles

Drizzle milk 1 teaspoon at a time over powdered sugar whisking well. Glaze should
be thin but not watery -- thick enough to brush on with a pastry brush but thin enough to be translucent.

Sprinkle confetti on cookies immediately after glazing.


CUCCIDATI 2


Ingredients

Crust Dough


¾ cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 medium orange, rind of
4 tsp orange juice
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla


Filling (prepare several days ahead of time)

1 string figs (that’s about 20-25 dried figs)
8 oz raisins
8 oz brown sugar
1 lb walnuts
1 lb dates
1 medium orange
2 tsp cinnamon
2 oz whiskey
¼ tsp black pepper
1- ½ cups water


Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar
4 oz butter
a little bit of orange juice



Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Crust Dough: In large bowl, cream together first 3 ingredients.

Add orange juice and orange rind.

In separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture along with vanilla.

Filling: Prepare several days ahead of time. In a food grinder, grind figs and raisins. In large saucepan, simmer raisins and figs with brown sugar and water for 15 minutes.

Grind walnuts, dates, and orange. Stir into hot mixture along with cinnamon, black pepper, and whiskey. Remove from stove, mix well, cover, and let mellow for 3 days.

Note: This recipe makes enough filling for 2 batches of crust and can be divided
and frozen for up to six months.

Roll dough into 3-inch wide strips on pastry cloth.

Lay filling down the center and wrap dough to form a long "sausage-like" cookie. Roll back and forth until crust seems very thin. Cut in diagonal about every 1
½ inches.

Place on cookie sheet close together and bake for 10-13 minutes. Cookies should be barely brown. Cool and store in tins 5 days, then frost.

Frosting: In medium bowl, mix together butter and powdered sugar until well blended. Add enough juice to make a thick glaze. Top cookies with a thin coat. Let frosting dry a couple of hours then store in tins as follows.


To Store: Line tins with foil, place a layer of cookies, then a layer of wax paper (NOT plastic wrap). Keep repeating, ending with foil and then the lid.



My Sicilian grandmother made these.

Joe
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post #3 of 4
12/13/09 at 11:06am
Joe's recipes sure look good.

Any chance the name wasn't "luchatha" but "potica?" Odds go up if Nana came from a part of Italy which bordered on the Adriatic -- double for Trieste.

It's not something I do, and I don't have any of my own recipes; but if you google the term, you may find something you like. And even if you don't, someone here may be familiar with the Italo-Slovenian term.

In fact, if it is the right name, there's a Slovenian CT contributor who was very active about posting recipes just a month or so ago. I'm sure you can track her down with the "Search" feature.

BDL
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post #4 of 4
12/13/09 at 4:50pm
Thread Starter 
The Cuccidata recipe does sound very good. But, unfortunately, it is not on-target for the recipe I'm seeking.

My grandmother came from the Tuscany Valley area in Italy. All her cooking was very Northern Italian (primarily using olive oil, garlic, wine....) -- and I'm not sure if her recipe was a regional one or not. I am very sure about how it was pronounced though(definitely began with an "luch....". My mother even confirmed this -- but she never got the recipe either.

I appreciate all your insight and help -- I'm sooooo frustrated that i can't find this recipe!
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