Sometimes wrapped in colourful tissue paper, sometimes in vintage-looking metal tins, these tender-crumbed almond biscuits appear in the baking tradition of many Italian regions, especially Liguria and Lombardy. In Venice, the tradition is likely acquired, though it found a perfect fit in the city’s time-honoured passion for crafting almond-based sweets. <br /> <br />Akin to Sicilian pasta di mandorle, the greatness of soft amaretti rests on the fragile equilibrium between the tender heart and the crumbly crystallised shell; the intense, marzipan-like sugariness and the contrasting notes of bitter almonds. Whether served aside a bowl of zabaglione, crumbled over ice cream or crushed on baked peaches, these will be in their element. <br />Excerpted from VENETO: Recipes from an Italian Country Kitchen by Valeria Necchio. Copyright © 2017 Valeria Necchio. Published by Faber & Faber. All Rights Reserved.

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