Mistocchine e tamplun

In late autumn, when there are few leaves left on the trees and chestnuts invade the paths, a familiar scent begins to waft through town. At some strategic corners in the center, always the same ones, you can easily find a good bag of freshly cooked chestnuts, sold by the pound, and with them some excellent flatbreads made of chestnut flour, which in Emilia-Romagna are quite common, called mistocchine. The name (in Ferrarese mistuchine) probably comes from the verb mescolare, to mix, mescere, because of the very nature of the dough of the scones. In the narrower streets, here in Ferrara, you are sure to notice someone walking by with a wrapped, steaming oval morsel: a convenient way to warm one's hands and indulge in a gastronomic treat during the cold winter days, perhaps glancing at the shop windows and thinking about the first Christmas purchases.

A traditional poor snack that together with tamplùn warms the cold months of Ferrara's people with a reassuring and familiar aroma of chestnut. Yes, even tamplùn are made from chestnut flour and represent even better the city's culinary offerings being precisely Ferrarese in origin. 

Unlike castagnaccio – another famous Italian treat made from chestnut flour - , the dough of which is liquid and then baked in the oven, tamplùn are composed of a less liquid batter that must be fried in plenty of oil. The mistocchina, instead, is the result of a dough as thick as shortcrust pastry that must be baked on a hot griddle.

It cannot be said that tamplùn and mistocchine agree on all palates: first, clearly, you have to like chestnuts. Neither snack, moreover, can be classified among the lighter dishes of the local cuisine; however we are talking about winter morsels – even fried, in the case of tamplùn-  to be eaten in moderation in order to be enjoyed at their best. An anecdote going back several years, to make you smile: Leonardo Pieraccioni, a well-known Italian actor and director, was forced to briefly interrupt the introduction to his show, from the stage of Ferrara's Teatro Nuovo, to confess, with a smile, that the mistocchina that a street vendor had kindly given him, recognizing him among the streets of the center, was putting him to the test! 

Despite everything, tamplùn and mistocchine have an important place in the hearts of Ferrara residents, often due to the many grandmothers who, for Carnival, have never missed the opportunity to pamper their grandchildren by preparing the now well-known treats.

If you are passing through during the winter months, it will not be complicated for you to find a mistocchina for a taste; alas, we cannot say the same about tamplùn, which are a little more difficult to acquire. To make up for the possible lack, we thought we would share with you the recipe for these sweet pancakes and, while we're at it, also the recipe for the very simple scones. 

Discover InFerrara's recipes to learn how to cook mistocchine and tamplùn, we are sure it will also become a comfort food for you during the coldest months of the year!

Ready, to the stove, go!

ph. Benedetta Stefani