Here is the ranking drawn up by a panel of 60 chefs and food bloggers: panettone, salami and tortellini are at the top
On the festive table there must be room for many courses: each region offers a series of rich recipes to satisfy all palates. But what are the dishes that Italians cannot do without at Christmas? Espresso Communication, for Vitavigor, the historic brand of breadsticks in Milan, asked a panel of 60 chefs and food bloggers, who drafted the top ten of the "must haves", the ranking of traditional delights to be brought absolutely to the table.
The ranking
The first place is reserved for panettone (83%); followed by cured meats (72%), from raw ham to salami; and, third, tortellini (64%). In fourth place is smoked salmon (50%), an appreciated ingredient for classic canapés, followed by breadsticks (47%). The top 10 is completed by dried fruit (41%), roast (36%), Russian salad (31%), various cheeses (29%) and lasagna (23%). Instead, the pandoro (21%), the cod (20%), the zampone (19%), the veal with tuna sauce (17%) and the capon (15%) remained surprisingly out of the 10 inevitable. At the bottom of the top 20, eel (12%), citrus fruits (10%), lentils (10%), struffoli (9%) and nougat (7%).
What do chefs think?
According to Andrea Valentinetti, chef of the Radici Restaurant in Padua, «the dishes that identify and represent are inevitable our history, our city and our roots and which are intertwined with traditional dishes. Like our Polverara hen, the guinea fowl broth tortelli, the capon, the kren, with a basket of homemade Christmas cakes. In addition, for our guests, we have created a burnt wheat breadstick, with amberjack marinated in red turnip, lemon gel, caper powder and potato mayonnaise .
For Rosanna Marziale, chef of Le Colonne di Caserta, on the Christmas table you can't miss "struffoli, fried eels, panettone and aexcellent reinforcement salad with boiled cauliflower, green olives, gherkins, spring onions, gardener, sweet or spicy peppers, all pickled and salted anchovies with curly escarole accompanied by breadsticks, perfect match given the acidity and flavor of the recipe ".
Gianni Ziccardi, executive chef and founder of GZ Consulting, adds that «they should never be missing zampone and lentils, pandoro, dried fruit, capon broth, eel and cappelletti, but also breadsticks paired with Colonnata lard, lamb speck, goose salami, wild boar ham, venison bresaola and accompanied with caramelized peppers and candied onion ".
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