In view of the end of the year, here is the calendar of Abruzzo biscuits, directly from Claudio Minicucci of Alla Chitarra Antica
Who is it Claudio Minicucci? A lifetime would not be enough to tell you who he is and everything he does. But we will try to give you a smattering of it, also because perhaps there is no more appropriate term. First of all Claudio is one of those who care above all else to make people laugh, even more so in this historical moment. Claudio, in fact, is one of the demonstrations of how much the food is a social element: his shop To The Ancient Guitar, in the center of Pescara, is a pole of attraction for all the people of Pescara, who come here to buy his creations, but also to have a chat, joke, be together. In short, Alla Chitarra Antica is an important point of reference, where you can learn a lot about the culinary tradition of Pescara and, in general, Abruzzo, just like that of biscuits. And given its history it could not be otherwise.
The story of Alla Chitarra Antica
As the title of an article hanging in the restaurant states, Alla Chitarra Antica was born from the lucky meeting of Pina D’Alonzo, Claudio's mother, e Giovanni Iannucci, a passionate professor of Abruzzo cuisine. It was 1996 when Pina and her husband Giovanni Minicucci, together with their children Fabio and Claudio, decided to return to Abruzzo from Belgium, where they had emigrated years earlier. On their return they immediately set about looking for a job that they seemed not to find, until they met Giovanni who first asked Pina and then her husband (of the same name) to work in his small deli. "But are you really paying me to make egg pasta?" Giuseppina hardly believed that one of her passions could become her job. Instead, in a short time, Giovanni first proposed to them the management and then the purchase of the business, but on a pact: never change the name Alla Chitarra Antica. It is here that Claudio has been growing up for 55 years now, with no intention of leaving this place that has represented so much for his family.
What do you find at the Ancient Guitar?
At the Ancient Guitar you will find everything. Started with a classic production of egg pasta with a guitar of two hundred years ago, the same one they still use today, over time other products have also been added: cured meats and dry pasta, salads and sandwiches, great traditional classics such as timbale and cicerchiata and various fresh dishes of the day, such as the irresistible delight of Claudio's lemon ravioli, with ricotta and peel, born from a childhood memory. "I liked biting the final part of the lemon so much that I had to find a way to reproduce that flavor." And then, obviously, always present is the whole wide and varied world of Abruzzo biscuits, which is characterized by being mainly and above all dry. Furthermore, Claudio reveals that each biscuit is prepared at a precise time of the year, linked to an agricultural activity or other recurrence. So, thanks to Claudio, we risk a sort of calendar of Abruzzo biscuits, even if, in the end, the only real rule remains this: prepare them or eat them when you feel like it.
Calendar of Abruzzo biscuits
Over the years, Abruzzo biscuits have become increasingly drier also due to the fashion and the increase in street food, therefore due to the need to consume food more easily on the street. And almost every month it has its own cookie, on the occasion of a party or an activity in the countryside.
September and October, taralli and manucce
Time to harvest, in Abruzzo a glass of red wine is always accompanied with a tarallo pucciato inside, usually prepared with flour, white wine and anise (a constant ingredient in Abruzzo biscuits). Just as there is never a shortage of manucce, biscuits filled with grape jam.
November, sgaiozzi
At the end of olive harvest, they eat the sgaiozzi, that is fried cornmeal biscuits with raisins, potatoes and anise, to pay homage to the end of fatigue.
December, cacionetti and shower heads
December is the main month for Abruzzo desserts: it starts before Christmas with the cacionetti, fried thin sheets filled with grape jam and continue with the famous soffioni, baked puffs filled with ricotta and sugar.
January, little birds
On the occasion of Sant 'Antonio the birds are prepared: biscuits with a shortcrust pastry with oil, almonds, chocolate and cooked wine.
February, torcinelli
For Carnivalinstead, there are always these typical fried sweets especially from Pescara, made with potatoes, raisins, aniseed and cinnamon, then covered with sugar.
March and April, fiadoni
For Easter you know, it's time for fiadoni, which Claudio prepares in one of the best existing versions, both baked and fried. In the past, these savory ravioli were made much larger and stuffed only with eggs and pecorino. "Abruzzo is a land of transhumance". Today they are also found with cow's milk and then, again due to the need to eat them comfortably even on the street, they become smaller. At the Ancient Guitar you can find them all year round, while in the nearby Marche they are more rigid: they are i piconi from the Marches, which however are done only and exclusively during the Easter period.
June and July, rebound
At least in the past, the custom meant that only after the threshing, the women prepared these very simple biscuits, always with the addition of anise, to be consumed with a large amount of wine, to relieve fatigue.
All year round, ferratelle and parrozzi
Although it may be easier to find ferratelle and parrozzi on the occasion of parties, these two desserts are a great classic of Abruzzo biscuits: the first are simple waffles made with eggs, flour, olive oil, grated lemon and obviously anise, prepared and calls differently depending on the area, for example pizzele, cancellate or neole; the second, however, perhaps needs no introduction. The parrozzo, once upon a time crude bread, in fact, it is the king biscuit of Pescara pastry, made with corn flour, milk, sugar, almonds, orange peel and covered with dark chocolate. It may be true that it is associated with Christmas, but in Pescara the parrozzo is a must all year round, especially Alla Chitarra Antica.
If you have some more information to enrich our Abruzzo biscuit calendar, do not hesitate to let us know!
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