Vermicelles are the typical Swiss autumn dessert.
Abroad, this specialty made of Chestnut is almost unknown.
Luckily, then more is left for us to enjoy!
At least in the culinary world, Globalisation has ensured that there are no limits anymore for epicurean delicacies.
Exceptions confirm the rule. Is an example complacent?
Ask a German what he thinks about vermicelles. If he’s not an insider or an ex-pat in Switzerland, he’ll almost certainly shrug his shoulders. By the way: Not only in Germany but also in our other neighboring countries, vermicelles are almost unknown.
In fact, the dessert is as Swiss as the Rütlischwur ( the place where the pact for a free Switzerland was done). Although there are some recipes for “Purée de Marron” in French cookbooks of the 17th century, the specialty did not appear as vermicelle until about a hundred years ago, especially in Ticino, the Italian part of Switzerland, where it was served in the fine confectioneries in Lugano. Apart from the fact that in Ticino Chestnuts were regarded as a staple food and for centuries ensured the survival of the poor rural population, what was closer to increasing prosperity than the profane Chestnuts processed together with milk, sugar, vanilla, and maybe a splash of cherry liquor into a dessert!? In Switzerland today there is hardly a restaurant or café that doesn’t offer vermicelles in the fall.
I absolutely love it, I could eat it every day!
Here is a recipe:
12 tartlets
280 grams of Chestnut Puree – de-frosted
2.5 dl of heavy cream – whipped until stiff
2 tablespoons cherry liquor
Blend together in the KitchenAid mixer or by hand with a whip, use a vermicelle press to squeeze some of the mixtures over crumbled meringue onto the pre-baked tartlets, serve with lots of whipped cream
