[Sca-cooks] Substitution of nuts in qanura of rabbit

[Christiane]

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>There are cases in the Italian Corpus where agliata (garlic sauce) uses either walnuts or almonds. The Mediterranean cuisines (IIRC) do not use many hazelnuts and Pine nuts are mostly in candy or for garnish. I do not recall any pistachios in Italy but there might be some in the other Mediterranean cuisines. 
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>All to say - I would recommend, if you absolutely have to substitute, that almonds be your first choice. 
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>Eduardo 
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Pistachios have been grown in Sicily since Roman times - apparently Sicily is the only place in Italy they can be grown, as the plant needs desert-like conditions to thrive.

Pistachios in Sicily are grown in and around the town of Bronte, in Catania near Mount Etna. Every two years or so, the town has a pistachio festival:

http://www.bronteinsieme.it/BrIns_en/4ec_en/pist_1history.html

Note that the Brontean dialect word for pistachio comes from the Arabic.

I may add pistachios to my cunnighiu in stemperata in a nod to this heritage, along with the pine nuts and the raisins. But I'll still cook the Andalusian dish with the walnuts, just as that recipe specifies. It should be an interesting compare and contrast.

YIS,
Adelisa