The Trieste broad beans are a typical recipe of the months of October and November in Friuli and Veneto (although the Venetian version tends to be made with pine nuts instead of almonds) These are small sweets made with egg whites, almonds and sugar that after being processed,
it is divided and colored differently, before cooking, usually using cocoa and pink dye to obtain the balls in the typical colors, ie neutral, brown and pink.
Their origin is ancient: these sweets symbolize the commemoration of the dead (in fact they are also called beans of the dead) to replace the beans eaten in Roman times on the graves of loved ones and at funeral banquets. Sometimes, in fact, the fava dei morti instead of balls are also shaped into chunks, so as to remember even more the legume. The only annoying part are the waiting times, because it takes 12 hours both to let the dough rest and to cool down: that's why I am publishing the recipe a little in advance of the day of the dead: so that you can organize yourself for weather 😉
Put the flour, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and mix, then stir in the alcohol
Divide the dough into 3 equal parts, leave one aside and add to the other 2 (separately) cocoa and dye (and, if you like, the alchermes), to create a pink and a brown dough.
Wrap each dough with cling film and let it rest for about 12 hours at room temperature.
Take back the loaves and, with the help of a little icing sugar, start creating balls of about 1-2 cm in diameter (like a large hazelnut), trying to make them all the same size (so that they cook evenly ).
As they are ready, arrange them on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 10 minutes at 130 ° C, in a preheated convection oven: you will find that they are ready because they will begin to crack on the surface.
The Trieste broad beans are ready: let them cool for at least 12 hours before serving.
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