Soak the sultanas in a small bowl of water, for about an hour. Remove some tiny little sprigs from the main sprig (10 for a mild flavouring, 20 for a strong flavouring).
After one hour soaking in water, drain the sultanas, set aside and discard the water.
Add the 570 g of water (1 pint) into a large bowl.
Add half of the olive oil to the water.
Add a pinch of salt to the water.
Start whisking.
Slowly, add the flour into the bowl, a bit at a time, while whisking. I have only two hands! one for the bowl and one for the camera; which explains why the whisk is still.....you should be whisking vigorously.
This pictures shows the stage where I have added about 50% of the flour. I whisk making sure that there is no lumps before adding the remainder of the flour.
Now, that all the flour has been added to the bowl, the batter should have reached a medium consistency (not too loose).
Next, add the sultanas to the batter.
Then, add the pine nuts to the batter.
Give the mix a good stir.
Coat a cake tin with olive oil. I have used a 22 cm (8 3/4") wide cake tin.
Pour the mix into the cake tin.
Leave the mix to level itself for few seconds. Do not bang the tin down against the working surface; it will send the sultanas and the pine nuts to the bottom.
Scatter the remaining olive oil all around the surface of the mix.
Place the tiny rosemary sprigs over the surface of the mix.
Place the cake tin into a pre-heated oven and bake for 35 minutes at 190°C (375°F). My oven is fan assisted.
The castagnaccio is ready. Remove from the oven and transfer it onto a plate.
This is how it looks after the baking.
Have a slice with an espresso coffee.Enjoy! If you have found it a bit too bitter for your taste, dust the castagnaccio with a bit of icing sugar, but not too much.