History of nougat
"Tante manon, tu nus gates" - Aunt Manon, you spoil us!! Or so the story goes when it comes to nougat as no one really knows just where and when it nougat sprung out, but the story most people enjoy hearing is the story of a little french lady in the village where in she would make what is now known as nougat for the kids as they played and from the line quoted above one would assume that the word nougat was derived from here.
But the french being the french and who they are when it comes to food they assume that during the 1650's around the time the almond tree was introduced to the montelimar people,but many historians believe that nougat was around for much longer yet was under a different name.
The Recipe
250g Honey
250g Castor sugar
1egg white
1 vanilla pod
Fruits and nuts to taste.
One thing around nougat is remain constant in your scale and try not to deviate from recipe, and with nougat this recipe will give you a lovely soft rich taste.
So Beat the egg white to a 'frappe' stage.
mix sugar and honey over heat until it reaches 115'C
Slowly add the honey/sugar mix to the eggs(which should be beating)
and mix until desired consistency is reached
add fruits and nuts
Now its time to add your variations(chocolate,chilli,mocha)
And then allow to set on rice paper or icing sugar
Voila Enjoy!!
Variation possibilities
Maybe try to add a bit more zing to the nougat of course it depends on a persons taste but here are a few ideas.
Citrus zest
Liquors(curacao range,brandy definitely not tequila or vodka)
Dried nuts
nuts
Fresh herbs(thyme,rosemary,lemon grass)
Seeds(pumpkinseeds, pine nuts)
Coffee and of course chocolate.
