made asparagus risotto last night with boxed veggie broth. cut up and blanched the asparagus tips and stirred them in. butter and parmesan and a little saffron. yum! kyle said it was one of his favorite things of all the things i'd made and even rahul liked it.

then today i made these (from epicurious)--substituting some chopped crystallized ginger and hazelnuts for the walnuts, and adding scharffen berger cocoa nibs to one of the logs. i haven't tried them post-biscotting because we went to dinner with rahul's coworkers pollyanna and anne and i ate too much sushi. but after the first baking they were quite nice.


DOUBLE CHOCOLATE WALNUT BISCOTTI


Unlike most commercially available chocolate biscotti, these have a deep chocolaty flavor.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips


1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter and flour a large baking sheet.

In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until combined well. Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.

On prepared baking sheet with floured hands form dough into two slightly flattened logs, each 12 inches long and 2 inches wide, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Bake logs 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool biscotti on baking sheet 5 minutes.

On a cutting board cut biscotti diagonally into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool biscotti on a rack. Biscotti keep in airtight containers 1 week and frozen, 1 month.

Makes about 30 biscotti.


Gourmet
December 1994