Almond polenta shortbread tart (sbrisolona)

The reason why it found its way into a Venetian cookbook is, well, mostly because I love it. The second reason is proximity: Mantua is only a few miles from the border of Veneto. The area shares a similar landscape and a culinary repertoire to that of its neighbouring region, with constant cultural-culinary exchanges happening between the two. 

Literally meaning ‘big crumbly one’, sbrisolona is a tart of humble provenance. Its modest ingredients consist of nothing more than polenta, flour, butter, sugar and just one precious egg. Hazelnuts were included in the original recipe, but modern adaptations call for almonds.

Sbrisolona is extremely simple to recreate at home. Traditionally served in chunks at the end of the meal, with coffee or grappa (or coffee ‘corrected’ with grappa), sbrisolona is equally good on its own or with a dollop of mascarpone cream {get Necchio's mascarpone recipe here). If you feel like embracing the Italian habit of eating biscuits for breakfast, this tart serves the purpose well, whether dipped in a steamy cup of caffelatte or crumbled in a bowl of cold milk and enjoyed like the sweetest of morning cereal.