QUALITALY 142

October/November 2024 XI MAGAZINE as sizes are concerned, on the other hand, there is a tendency to replace the 1 kg with 750, 800 and 900 g versions, a choice that makes it possible to reduce the selling price per confection. BONIFANTI-QUALITALY, AN ‘’ARTISANAL‘’ COLLABORATION Bonifanti has been producing panettone and colomba since 1932 following traditional recipes, choosing the best ingredients and using only ‘Bonifanti white sourdough’. Among the Piedmontese company’s proposals are: the Panettone Gran Milanese with sultanas and candied orange and citron peels, in low and tall versions; the Panettone glazed without candied fruit; and the Panettone with chocolate and pears. ‘These are the three recipes we make for Cooperativa Italiana Catering,’ Ravaschio informs us. The Panettone Gran Milanese and the frosted panettone without candied fruit are in 1 kg sizes, while the chocolate and pear panettone is 750 g. Ours is a quality product with an artisan character, so much so that it takes us 72 hours to make it. All stages of production are natural, including cooling. In keeping with our production method, we have chosen not to work with large-scale distribution, but only with specialised sales outlets, to emphasise the premium positioning of our product. And this is one of the reasons why CIC decided to collaborate with Bonifanti. The partnership started this year and we have provided all our know-how, creating the project together: from recipes to packaging. Clients who place their trust in us don’t have to think about anything because we are able to accompany them through every stage and provide them with a complete product, including packaging and ribbon. We hope, therefore, that this is only the beginning of a long-lasting collaboration’. __________________________________ AT PAGE 42 DID YOU KNOW? Christmas, tradition on the table A JOURNEY THROUGH THE COUNTRY AND ALSO IN THE FOREIGN COUNTRIES WHERE QUALITY IS PRESENT WITH ITS BRANDS TAKES US TO DISCOVER SOME OF THE MOST TYPICAL CHRISTMAS RECIPES by Veronica Fumarola When in a region, find a recipe. Even at Christmas. Our country is a varied treasure chest of culinary goodness that every year at Christmas time evokes legends and traditions and reminds us of the beauty of spending time at the family table. In this issue of Quality Magazine dedicated to Christmas, we wanted to cross Italy in a journey through the regions where our members are present, pushing even beyond national borders to discover some of the most typical Christmas recipes. In Abruzzo , the most sumptuous dish is undoubtedly the brodo con il cardone (broth with cardoon), which is cooked slowly the day before Christmas and is prepared with chicken, beef, capon or veal. Then there are cardoons (a vegetable similar to celery, but belonging to the artichoke family), seasoned with a mixture of egg and Parmesan cheese, pallottine (meatballs) and, before serving on the table, pizza rustica. The typical dessert, on the other hand, is the parrozzo: a hemispherical cake made of semolina and almonds, entirely covered in dark chocolate. In Basilicata , a Christmas must is frying. Not to be missed among the appetisers are pettole (fried balls of leavened dough) that can be enriched with anchovies, salt cod and cauliflowers. King of the first courses is the strascinati al ragù, while an local second course is cod with peperone crusco, a Lucanian excellence: a deep red pepper with a sweet flavour that becomes crunchy when cooked. Dulcis in fundo are the ‘piccilatiedd’, a sweet doughnut-shaped bread typical of the Potentine tradition, and the ‘chinulidd’, calzoncelli (small cakes) filled with chestnut cream, vincotto and grated orange peel. Christmas in Campania begins on Christmas Eve with the pizza di scarole (escarole lettuce) and its tasty filling of olives, anchovies, pine nuts and sultanas. This is usually followed by spaghetti with clams, and for the main course, sea bass and sea bream baked in foil or all’acqua pazza, without forgetting fried fish: squid, salt cod and eel, the latter also cooked in a stew. On Christmas Day, the most traditional dish is minestra maritata: a vegetable soup, usually escarole and chicory, mixed with pork. Campania’s tables on feast days are also a riot of sweets: mustaccioli, roccocò, raffiuoli, divino amore, susammielli, struffoli. Emilia-Romagna is the land of broth: from Bolognese tortellini to Modenese cappelletti, passing by passatelli from Romagna and anolini from Parma and Piacenza, fresh egg pasta, stuffed or not, warms the hearts and palates of families on Christmas Day. In the company, of course, of bollito misto (mixed boiled meats) accompanied by sauces. Among the Christmas starters in Friuli- Venezia Giulia is ‘toc in braide’: a soft polenta accompanied by a cheese fondue. First courses, on the other hand, vary from area to area: from the ‘cjarsons’ of Carnia to the plum-filled gnocchi of the province of Gorizia, to the ‘jota’, a soup made with beans, sauerkraut and potatoes. Brovada e muset is also part of the Friulian Christmas tradition: a cotechino made from the lean cuts of the pig’s snout. The signature dessert is the gubana, a spiral of dough filled with walnuts, pine nuts, sultanas, dried figs and prunes. Also popular is potiza, a sweet focaccia. In Lazio, there is a main course that is an almost ever-present dish for Christmas lunch: abbacchio, a suckling lamb cooked in the oven with potatoes. The most typical dessert of the festivities in Lazio is pangiallo, so called because of the particularly yellow colour of the dough, due to the presence of saffron. It is a cake made with dried fruit, flour, sultanas and saffron, sweetened with honey, and is accompanied by panpepato. Natalini, or Christmas macaroni, is a traditional Christmas first course in Liguria : a rather long pasta format served in capon broth. The meat cooked in the broth is then, of course, served as a boiled dish. A classic second course is turkey alla storiona, covered with boiled cured ham together with herbs and vegetables. Accompanying the main course are the ‘stecchi fritti’: a fried mixture of veal, mushrooms, artichokes and sweetbreads skewered and breaded with egg and breadcrumbs. Lunch ends with pandolce. Christmas’ first courses in Lombardy vary from province to province. In Milan, for example, you can choose between capon broth or risotto alla milanese. In Mantua, agnolini mantovani stuffed with meat or tortelli di zucca are served in broth.