Casola Marocca

In Lunigiana, wheat was grown on the valley floor, so in the past the only flour available in the mountain areas was ground from chestnuts. The Carpanese, Punticosa and Rastellina chestnut varieties, small and slightly flattened on one side, were abundant, and the whole family, including children and the elderly, would help out with the harvest. Marocca is made by mixing finely sieved chestnut flour, wheat flour and boiled and mashed potatoes with extra-virgin olive oil, yeast, a piece of sourdough starter and water. The dough is formed into a round loaf, about 20 centimeters in diameter, which is left to rise for over an hour before being baked in a wood-burning oven.

Season

Marocca is made year-round, because of the long life of chestnut flour, but mostly in November and during the rest of the fall because of the availability of fresh flour