Tortelli

Mix nuts, sugar and water. Mixture should be wet enough that the nuts and sugar hold together, but do not contain excess water.

Mix flour, eggs, lard, and water. Roll dough out and cut into 2 inch squares. Drop about a teaspoon of nut filling into onto the squares, fold and pinch. Fry pastry in oil and then dust with sugar.

*Please note that lard and eggs would not have originally been used in this recipe in period for lent. I decided to add the lard simply to make the dough slightly more palatable, and slightly easier to work with. Without it, the result resembles a fried cracker with a nut filling.

Original Recipe Sources

Source [ Libro di cucina/ Libro per cuoco , Ludovico Frati (ed.)]: CXV. Tortelli a modo de fritelle bianche per quaressema bone. A ffare tortelli bianchi per xij persone, toy una libra de mandole e una quarta de nociuole e de noxe, e togli meza libra de zucharo e toy le mandole ben monde e le nociuole ben monde e pestala insema e mitige arquanto zucharo a pestare, e de questo batuto fai le fritelle e falle picole. Togli farina e zafarano e tridalla con aqua e fay che sia molle e zalla e involzi entro li tortelli e frizili in bono olio e polverizage del zucharo e dali dreto le altre vivande.

Source [ Libro di cucina/ Libro per cuoco , Louise Smithson (trans.)]: CXV - Tortelli in the way of white fritters for lent good. To make tortelli white for 12 persons, take a pound of almonds and a quarter of hazelnuts and of walnuts, and take half a pound of sugar and take the almonds well peeled and the hazelnuts / walnuts well peeled and paste well and mix enough sugar and paste and of this batter make the fritters and make them small. Take flour and saffron and mix with water and make that it is soft and yellow and fold inside the tortelli and fry in good oil and powder with sugar and put them before the other meats.