Every Friday, at Flemington Markets, there is an Italian gentleman selling torrone.
He has a tiny stall, which sells nothing else but bags and bars of this handmade Italian nougat. He stands behind his stall all morning long, hacking at giant blocks of torrone with a large cleaver, then packing the pieces into small plastic bags for sale. I can only assume that he makes the nougat at home during the week, ready for a busy Friday trade. I find the whole set-up so appealing that I always end up buying a couple of bags. It’s wickedly delicious, chewy and moreish.
His torrone is studded with almonds (any other nuts are simply wrong, he told me last week) and it sells for a fixed price, regardless of how much you buy – $2 for 50g, $4 for 100g, $12 for 300g.
Look out for it the next time you’re at the markets – it’s a great weekend treat!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I’m drooling…..Can’t you ask him how he makes it? Trade him something, beg a little ? I think it is eggwhites and something else…. Nougat is one of my favourite sweets in the whole world….
Jo, I tried! He doesn’t speak a lot of English, and all I got out of him were that almonds were the only nut to use, and that the eggwhites were cooked. I think I have a torrone recipe somewhere, let me see if I can dig it out and email it to you.
I make nougat 3 times a year. It’s restricted to a couple of dear friends and my dad on their birthdays. Everyone else gets the edges. I have been told by those people on the edges that 1. Its the best ever, 2 that it’s the 2nd best ever after a pastry chef they knew. Huh..But they still want to make my birthday list! My recipe is from an SBS website and has pistachio in it (blasphemy!) http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/472/Almond_and_honey_nougat/search/true
You really need a kitchenaid, my beaters didnt cut it. Also humidity is a major problem. Well, for some. Last Xmas i made some that didnt set that well but you could eat it with a spoon. It was my favourite but not for those traditionalists. They very much approved my batch made in August though. Let it set completely for a couple of days before you cut it. Even the old hot knife is too much hassle. It will ‘Break’ cleanly in the right conditions when you cut it.
Sorry about these long posts but Im really passionate about nougat making. You should use thermometers and never use a non stick saucepan, you will never get the correct temperature. They will boil over yet never get hot enough for the correct consistency. Don’t bother trying with non stick – you’ll end up with honey and glucose syrup everywhere…
Kirsten, thank you very much for the link. I’ve been looking for a good nougat recipe for ages – have never tried making it, but bought rice paper (from Essential Ingredient, of course) ages ago. Pistachios are fine, I think, just not in torrone (which is quite different to normal nougat – it’s hard and a little brittle). :) Celia
Do you think it is harder than making fudge or toffee, (neither of which I have made for many years by the way)?? but I might put on a sweet making hat for a go at this sometime before Christmas, which is the only time I get to have proper imported french or italan nougat. I was in Montelimar once when I was a child, nougat heaven. Thank you Kirstin for posting that link! Jo
That’s my favourite recipe by far but there are so many recipes on line. My last batch was just that, hard and brittle and then an instant chewy melt in your mouthness…. When i tryed to cut it, it was so rock hard I could’nt get the knife though. days later though it just snapped apart when i cut it. I like a good google challenge so must look up a torrone recipe and make a comparison batch……….