Torrone is one of my favorite confections to make during the Christmas Season. There are many reasons for this. One… it simply is very delicious. It has a long history in Italian culture and is famous in the south of Italy where it has its origins in Sicily. Most likely it goes back even further to the middle east. My grandfather was from Sicily and my interests in our family and culture have always intrigued me. Hence, years later when I opened our restaurant in Deming, Washington after moving from Cleveland, Ohio it was a natural progression to add the confections of my ancestors. It helps that I fell in love with it as well. The difficulty in making it is a challenge but one I have learned to adapt to and to find ways to be creative with. Like this year after making my first batch, the nugget was not hard enough and so it did not hold form. Some or most makers use edible rice paper but I did not have any on hand and did not want to order any as well. Lucky me while pondering what to do to find a workaround I found nori on my shelf. Ah! what a novel idea Sweet Sushi Torrone. I am testing the methods in which to roll them and am finding that I need to chop up the almond nuts finer so it does not tear the nori. Also, it has a better tooth feel when biting into it. When taking my first bite I got the floral smell and taste with the brittle crunch of the nori and then the sweet-salty taste of the almond treat inside. My daughter Emma has a savory side confirmed that she liked it because it is not overpowering with sweetness and enjoyed the crunch as well of the nori. I believe this is just the beginning of having fun with this idea.
Sweet Sushi Torrone