L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 42 L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2018 Meeting panettone and pandoro's cousin: buccellato C hristmas desserts in Italy are usually always associated with panettone and pandoro, and people usually have a firm favorite of the two.  I love panettone for example and I am quite capable of eating a whole one by myself..... in one day!  But it's not all about panet- tone and pandoro! Christmas des- serts in Italy are so much more and most regions will have a tra- ditional pastry or dessert prepared specifically for the festive pe- riod. One of the first that comes to mind is probably torrone. Torrone is nougat, and it can be found wi- dely throughout Italy. It varies from soft and chewy blocks of nougat, to hard nut brittles and its origins are are ascribed to Greek, Roman, Arab and Spanish con- querors. The most common tor- rone features whole toasted nuts encased by egg whites, sugar and honey. Another very sweet treat that is seen on many a Christmas table in Italy is struffoli, and as a child, I remember my Calabrian Nonna making it. Struffoli, though, is tra- ditionally from Napoli and it is made up of deep fried marble si- zed pieces of dough, which are then covered in honey.  It is usually enjoyed at Christmas or Easter time, but can also be eaten during carnival celebrations. Visit Florence and you'll see the bakery and elegant caffè bar windows filled with panforte. This is a very dense, rich confec- tion loaded with nuts, candied or dried fruit, and spices (hence its name which means "strong bread").  It may date back to 13th century Siena, in Tuscany, with the people from Siena definitely claiming their city as the panforte capital of Italy. Thanks to the me- dieval and Renaissance spice tra- des, this seasoned fruitcake cal- led panforte has been made in central Italy for centuries. Panpe- pato, a type of panforte, is heavily spiced and produced from Ferrara in Emilia-Romagna to Siena in Tuscany. As the name suggests, pane is bread, while pepe is black pepper. Panpepato uses piquant black pepper in its spice mix, which may also include cinnamon, coriander or nutmeg combined with almonds, pine nuts, hazel- nuts, walnuts, citrus zest, and also cocoa. Travel to Puglia and you'll find cartellate. Cartellate are nests of fried dough ribbons that are soaked in honey, fig syrup or reduced wine must. Today, the crimped dough strips represent baby Jesus' swaddling clothes or the crown of thorns, but locals claim the sweet has pre-Christian origins stretching back to ancient Greece. Parrozzo is found in Abruzzo, and although this region is my nei- ghbor it isn't a cake I am familiar with. Since its invention in Pescara in 1920, the domed, dark chocolate covered cake has become synony- mous with Christmas in Abruzzo. The parrozzo was created by Luigi D'Amico, pastry chef and owner of a pastry shop in Pescara. D'A- mico had the idea of making a cake in the shape of a rustic type of bread, a semi-spherical loaf that was prepared by farmers with corn and destined to be kept for many days. D'Amico was inspired by the shapes and colors of this bread and reproduced the yellow of the corn with that of eggs, to which he added almond flour. The dark color that comes from burning the crust of the bread when it's baked in a wood oven was replaced with a dark chocolate coating.The first person to whom Luigi D'Amico offered the parrozzo was Gabriele d'Annunzio, who, entranced by the new dessert, wrote La Canzone del Parrozzo. Local artists and writers championed this local product and immortalized it in art and litera- ture, leading to its diffusion throu- ghout Abruzzo. In Sardinia, there is a cake ea- ten during Christmas and New Year celebrations and it's called Su pan'e saba. It is an ancient re- cipe, born as a poor bread because it was a bread kneaded with "saba," that is, the must of cooked grapes. This made it sweet and then it was eaten just like cake! This has evolved over time and has been enriched and customized with local products and depending on the various family traditions. Like many other Christmas cakes, almonds, sultanas, spices and can- died orange peel are included in the recipe. The Italian Christmas dessert that I would like to highlight in this article, however, is a wonder- ful recipe I discovered only last year. Buccellato is a traditional fra- grant and sweet Sicilian pastry which starts appearing in Decem- ber and is usually associated with the Christmas holidays.  Dried figs, spices, a sweet Sicilian wine called Zibibbo, nuts such as pista- chio, walnuts, almonds and dark chocolate are encased in a sweet shortcrust pastry.  It is shaped to form a wreath and the bright co- lors from the candied fruit deco- rations make it a perfect centre- Buccellato is made with dried figs, spices, Zibibbo wine, pistachios, walnuts, almonds and dark chocolate, encased in pastry. Photo: Toni Brancatisano Buccellato is a traditional fragrant and sweet Sicilian pastry, usually associated with Christmastime @Toni Brancatisano LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES TONI BRANCATISANO Continued to page 44

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