Tag: gastronomic

The gastronomic panettone, as we do it at La Cucina Italiana – Italian Cuisine

It is the savory and enriched version of the traditional Christmas cake – here in 6 layers. We also give you the sweet version with 4 delicious creams

The gastronomic panettone, just look at it and you immediately want to give it back a leading role in the holidays for which it was born: Christmas and New Year. Convivial, imaginative, greedy. One of the merits of Instagram is having brought back many beautiful things on our screens, perhaps démodé or simply forgotten.

Where can you buy it? Or, for those who have more patience, how do you do it? You can decide to prepare it from scratch, including basic bread, or to buy it ready to serve, stuffed and already cut so as not to ruin the delicate assembly. In this case, turn to high-level pastry shops and delicatessens to guarantee maximum freshness.

A good compromise is to buy the ready-made base and stuff it at home, however you like. Get the appropriate one pan canasta, a cross between brioche bread and bread, made with flour, eggs and butter: it has a neutral flavor that lends itself to a sweet filling, with creams, ganache and dried fruit, or savory, with sauces, cheeses, cold cuts .

Stuff the gastronomic panettone it is not difficult, and if we can give you a suggestion to simplify the approach, think about preparing some sandwiches. Divide the bread cylinder into 5-6 discs; then cut them in half; stuffed with previously prepared condiments and present your little masterpiece.

It is an excellent aperitif with bubbles, and a playful appetizer when you are already seated at the table: everyone will take from the mega sandwich the segment that appeals to them the most. The sweet version, on the other hand, concludes the meal, but is also an elegant snack at tea time.

How you do it:

The trick to facilitate the tasting of gastronomic panettone is to put two slices between the fillings. Thus, the single portion becomes a real sandwich. Traditionally, there are five layers, but here we have exaggerated and made six:

Shrimp cocktail

We prepared the pink sauce by mixing mayonnaise and ketchup, but everyone can choose their recipe to spread on the slice of panettone. Spread the shrimp on top. We put the same filling in the first and last layer.

Blini reimagined

Smoked salmon and sour cream scented with grated lime zest and pink pepper and garnished with chopped chives.
After all, panettone is also an XXL-sized blini.

Easier than toast

Slices of raw ham and creamy Piedmontese robiola. Slice a few radishes and put them on top.

Mortadella and green sauce

To prepare the sauce, you need a cup of parsley, 3 anchovy fillets in oil, a spoonful of pistachios and one of capers, 2 gherkins and 60 g of extra virgin olive oil. Blend everything for 15 seconds and the sauce is ready.

Eggs and mayonnaise

Spread the mayonnaise on the slice, cover it with slices of hard-boiled egg and complete with some cherry tomatoes in oil.

The sweet gourmet panettone

Four creams to transform a classic panettone into a spectacular dessert:

sweet gourmet panettone

Vanilla cream

Mix 250 g of fresh cream with 40 g of mascarpone, 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and the seeds of 1/2 vanilla pod. Whip with electric whisk until the cream is firm. Spread it on the panettone and complete with pomegranate grains and sliced almonds.

Eggnog

Beat 4 egg yolks with 120 g of sugar. Add 100 g of white wine and 100 g of Marsala. Cook over low heat, in a double boiler, stirring for 7-10 minutes until the eggnog becomes frothy. Cool it in the fridge for 1 hour before using it for stuffing.

Pistachio

Mix a pistachio cream (you can buy it at the supermarket) with a cup of mascarpone. Spread it on a layer of panettone and sprinkle with chopped pistachios.

Chocolate

Prepare a custard with 8 egg yolks and, at the end of cooking, while it is still hot, add 100-150 g of chopped dark chocolate. Leave to cool, then spread the cream on the slice of panettone and add fresh raspberries.

The return of the gastronomic panettone: innovation and tradition – Italian Cuisine

Stuffed in layers or in focaccia, with cheese, capocollo or truffle in the dough. The most vintage appetizer is renewed in every form, from gastronomy or ready to buy and made by the best pastry chefs in Italy.

It is called panettone due to its shape and because it dominates the party tables, but the savory one is served as an appetizer. In the seventies and eighties it was the emblem of the scenography, a must together with canapes and Russian salad to start the Christmas lunch. Nice and good, opulent, stuffed with abundance, filled with a surprise at each layer. It survives on the counters of delicatessens, with that slightly vintage style that made the new generations forget it. Then a little thanks to Masterchef, a little bit of Bake Off which made it a challenge for new gourmets, once again has its place of honor along with vodka pendants and amarcord dishes dusted off from oblivion. You can buy it from Eataly, to be filled, in the historic pastry shops that have never abandoned it, in Milan from the historic one Panzera pastry shop, in Brescia by the master Iginio Massari, in Rome or Naples where it is often called Pan Canasta, assemble at home with ready-made colored brioche bread or make from scratch. Or you can go ahead and embrace its recent evolution desired by the Masters of the “sweet” panettone who propose a contemporary version, in which cheese, bacon and precious truffles dominate instead of raisins and candied fruit, creams and icings. It also exists in the shape of a pandoro, alla Martesana pastry shop in Milan.

The salty panettone

Defining it as a novelty makes you smile, and not because Attilio Servi has been producing it since 2013, but because the crescia with cheese has existed since the Middle Ages. Whether you call it Easter pizza, Easter cake, cheese cake or crescia brusca, it is widespread in the Marche, Lazio, Umbria, Abruzzo and Molise regions and has even been included in the list of Traditional Food Products (P.A.T). But now it's trendy, it was enough to call it “salty panettone”.

The first: Attilio Servi's salty focaccia

Attilio Servi has been the only one to produce the savory variations of panettone for years, introducing the flavor of some ingredients in the Panettone dough with the first "Farmer's Focaccia" with pears and Parmigiano Reggiano. After the success, Attilio Servi followed the "Triumph of Italy" Focaccia with dried Abruzzo Pear Tomatoes, Parmesan and Oregano from Pantelleria (Best Salted Panettone Award at the "Una Mole di Panettoni 2017" event), the "All'Amatriciana" Focaccia and in 2017 the Focaccia "Cacio e Pepe" (Prize at Vinitaly 2017 and at the Merano Wine Festival 2017).

From panettone in summer to panettone and aperitif
The idea was not to seasonally adjust the classic panettone, as many try to do, trying to sell it under the sun of August 15, but to expand the opportunities for consumption beyond breakfast, a snack and the moment of dessert at Christmas. . Instead of enriching it with creams and exotic ingredients, he preferred to make it an equally Italian version, but suitable to be consumed as an aperitif and appetizer. These are in fact salted leavened products but with a sweet tendency, such as brioche dough, to be served with a glass of bubbles or in combination with cheeses and meats, foie gras, smoked salmon …

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Possible combinations for an easy appetizer

In Mantona, Grace Mazzali he created his own Pepita del PO, salty panettone with truffles, a salty leavened product that is worked only with mother yeast without adding preservatives, dyes or flavorings but with white truffle from the floodplains of the Po: “For me, as a man from Mantua, it is also a way to enhance a product of my territory. This leavened product was conceived as an aperitif or appetizer product, paired with semi-aged sheep or goat cheeses, shellfish, fish tartare, Lardo di colonnata, foie gras, smoked salmon, eggs or porcini mushrooms. If, on the other hand, we wanted to keep the mantle of Mantua in its entirety, we could combine it with pike … and accompanying sparkling wines, or even structured reds ”explains Grazia. At Pasticceria Mazzali there is also Cortigiano (cherry tomatoes, Borrettana onion, 40-month Parmesan cheese from Reggio Emilia red cows, ideal in combination with cured meats and red wines).

2020, less offer and a competition

In past years the growth of proposals had been exponential, but in 2020 there is a decline: the salty panettone is eaten by many, and this will not be the scenario of Christmas and New Year. At the contest A Mole of Panettone 2020, which rewards the best great leavened products from all over Italy in Turin, pastry shops from North to South competed: the winner was the Antica Pasticceria Castino di Pinerolo (TO) with its Panettone Salato pesto and dried tomatoes, Taggiasca olives and Parmesan. Second place was the Pasticceria Vanily from Carinaro (CE) with a Panettone Salato Papacelle and Baccalà and third place was the Pasticceria Dolcevita from Codroipo (UD) with the Panettone Salato with speck from Sauris, red onion from Cavasso and Val Cosa (slow food presidium) and Dairy cheese from the Pradis da Sopra.

All the best, from Capocollo to caciocavallo

The search for the typical product remains fundamental, so in 2018 products such as the Pancapocollo with Capocollo di Martina Franca from Salumificio Santoro, made by Emanuele Lenti; in Abruzzo, in Caserta the PanArchico is baked, an artisanal salted panettone with Caciocavallo Hierarchico and white pork belly, created by Guido Sparaco. In Mantona, Grazia Mazzali created her Pepita del PO, salty panettone with white truffle from the floodplains of the Po and so on Here are the products to taste, for the holidays, but not only:

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Torrazzo Nuvoli and Gastronomic Trails, winning synergies in the area – Italian Cuisine

When the lockdown sharpens the wits and two companies create interesting opportunities in the area

On the hills of San Damiano d'Asti there is a company that has been dedicated to the production of wine for more than 500 years, Torrazzo Nuvoli. For more than 26 generations the company has been managed independently, with important choices for the production and marketing of wines and products, with an innovative spirit and respect for tradition.

The vineyards extend on the steep clayey limestone marl hill of the Torrazzo for about 5 hectares with a south and south-east exposure, perfect for this grape variety.
Since 2011, the winery has embarked on the path of organic farming, an important decision, not only out of respect for the environment and its times, but also for the desire to safeguard this small wine heritage for future generations; in production they totally exclude the use of herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers, exploiting the natural fertility of the soil.

History

Torrazzo is not only synonymous with Barbera d’Asti, but it is a story that begins in 1223 with the construction of the Tower of Marcellengo, with bricks made and fired on the spot. Today the tower is the only visible medieval vestige left after the destruction of the annexed castle in the battle of Roccavione in 1274. While the tower was maintained because it represented an important lookout point, the walls of the castle were knocked down from the steep Torrazzo hill. and still today there are large blocks underground in the vineyards.

The wines

At Torrazzo Nuvoli they produce Barbera d’Asti Docg organic in purity, with selected grapes that come exclusively from the estate's vineyards; the grapes are harvested by hand and vinified in the ancient cellars under the castle. The traditional barbera is aged for at least 9 months in large oak barrels, the upper one at least 24 months and the last born, LOLA, is aged in cement only and represents a more modern interpretation.

Gastronomic trails

Even for a historic company like Torrazzo Nuvoli, the long lockdown has created many problems, somewhat reducing the many activities with Italian and foreign tourists, including visits and tastings. Fortunately, an interesting collaboration has developed with gastronomic trails; young company that has been working in the area for a few months, presented in early July.
The idea of the Gastronomic Paths was born from the desire of chef Diego Bongiovanni to enhance the regional territory starting from local and quality agricultural productions, sometimes little known companies, but which constitute the real fulcrum of the local agricultural economy and the origin of all the ingredients that the chef uses in his most authentic and traditional cuisine.

Tours

Guests will always be accompanied by an ecotourist guide who, in addition to illustrating the naturalistic and artistic beauties encountered on the way, will also have the task of emphasizing the strong link between Piedmontese territory and traditional gastronomy. For example, through the description of the agricultural landscape, the methods of using local raw materials in the typical cuisine and the tasting of indigenous products and wines directly in the farms along the route.

Itinerary

The guys from Sentieri Gastronomici suggest us a beautiful e-bike itinerary, through woods, hazelnut groves and vineyards: San Damiano, e-bike tour.

"We will start from the headquarters of the Colline Alfieri Regional Enoteca and cycle towards the Agriturismo Ca 'Colomba where, immersed in a sea of 360 ° open vineyards, we will have our first tasting of native wines, produced by the Franco Giacinto Winery that has been working for years and grows vines with passion on these hills, where Barbera d'Asti DOCG, Nebbiolo and Arneis are the masters. But it will already be time to take the road that for us will pass through the village and then climb the hill from the opposite side, continuing winding for a short stretch that climbs the first hill and reaches the ridge. The path then continues to the small church of San Luigi, located in the hamlet of the same name, where the eye sweeps over the green valley below, here the Ponte Ballerine farm will let you taste its excellent wines that will be accompanied by honey and hazelnuts . We will leave again, for the next destination, breathing in the scents of the season, which change every meter and taste of leaves, earth and fruit until we reach the crossroads of three local wineries: Pianchè, Ferrero Ettore and Val Serra, which will offer to guests the excellent wines of local production in front of a breathtaking view, which will make us enjoy a 360 ° view that opens to our eyes and that from the nearby village gathered in the valley, reaches, on sunny days, up to the crown of Alps. We will then return to the starting point, the Colline Alfieri Regional Enoteca, where we will live a new splendid experience through an excellent tasting of local wines, after which we will receive the well-deserved final picnic! .

What to do, what to taste, what to buy

Where to sleep / wines
Franco Giacinto's Farm, Agriturismo Cà Colomba, Fraz. Valmolina, 60 San Damiano d’Asti.

Wines
Regional Enoteca Colline Alfieri dell’Astigiano, piazza Libertà, 1 San Damiano d’Asti.

Bread, Breadsticks & Co
Panificio Canta, Frazione San Giulio 133, San Damiano d’Asti: specialty bread and breadsticks as they once were, excellent cold cuts and sausage tel. 0141977281.

Where to eat in San Damiano d'Asti
Osteria Vineria Madama La Barbera (excellent typical restaurant), Piazza Libertà, 1 / L San Damiano d’Asti, tel. 0141971842.

Conti Nuvoli di Grinzane, Torrazzo road 22, San Damiano d’Asti (AT).
Visits to the cellar of the Marcellengo Tower and the historic garden are possible by appointment at tel39 351 5302717.