Torrone Nurzia, also called torrone tenero al cioccolato aquilano, is a type of nougat from the Abruzzo region of Italy. [1]
Born from the intuition of the pastry chef Ulisse Nurzia and produced in L'Aquila since the 19th century, it is considered an Italian excellence and is listed as a prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale (PAT) by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies. [2] [3]
Abruzzo, historically known as Abruzzi, is a region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four provinces: L'Aquila, Teramo, Pescara, and Chieti. Its western border lies 80 km (50 mi) east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and north-west, Molise to the south and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Geographically, Abruzzo is divided into a mountainous area in the west, which includes the highest massifs of the Apennines, such as the Gran Sasso d'Italia and the Maiella, and a coastal area in the east with beaches on the Adriatic Sea.
Pecorino is an Italian hard cheese produced from sheep's milk. The name pecorino derives from pecora, which means 'sheep' in Italian.
Nougat is a family of confections made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts, whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The consistency of nougat is chewy, and it is used in a variety of candy bars and chocolates. The word nougat comes from Occitan pan nogat, seemingly from Latin panis nucatus 'nut bread'.
Turrón, torró or torrone is a southwest European and Moroccan nougat confection, typically made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted almonds or other nuts, and usually shaped either into a rectangular tablet or a round cake. Turrón is usually eaten as a dessert food around Christmas in Spain and Italy. It is also popular in Portugal, Morocco, and Latin America.
Porchetta is a savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast of Italian culinary tradition. The carcass is deboned and spitted or roasted traditionally over wood for at least eight hours, fat and skin still on. In some traditions, porchetta is stuffed with liver and wild fennel, though many versions do not involve stuffing. Porchetta is usually heavily salted and can be stuffed with garlic, rosemary, fennel, or other herbs, often wild. Porchetta has been selected by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy as a prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale (PAT), one of a list of traditional Italian foods held to have cultural relevance.
Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine consisting of the ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Roman times and later spread around the world together with waves of Italian diaspora. Some of these foods were imported from other cultures. Significant changes occurred with the colonization of the Americas and the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, maize and sugar beet—the latter introduced in quantity in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known and most appreciated gastronomies worldwide.
Pizzoli is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is located in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park.
Struffoli, also known as Honey Balls, is a Neapolitan dish made of deep fried balls of sweet dough. The dough is used in many Italian sweet treats such as chiacchiere. For struffoli, the dough is formed in to balls about the size of marbles. Crunchy on the outside and light inside, struffoli are mixed with honey and other sweet ingredients and formed into mounds or rings. There are many different ways to flavour them, but the traditional way is to mix them in honey with diavulilli, cinnamon, and bits of orange rind. Naming varies by region: in Calabria they are also known as scalilli, and in Abruzzo cicerchiata. They are often served at Christmas and are sometimes served warm.
Mario Magnotta was an Italian janitor of a commercial school in L'Aquila, Abruzzo. He became very well known in Italy after being the victim of several prank calls, made in 1986 and 1987 by some former students of the institute, which were later circulated on audio cassettes and, eventually, on the Internet.
Ventricina del Vastese is a traditional dry fermented pork sausage commonly found in the Abruzzo region of Central Italy. Ventricina, from the Vasto area, is made with large pieces of fat and lean pork. The meat is pressed and seasoned with powdered sweet peppers and fennel and encased in dried pig stomach.
A bocconotto is a pastry typical of the Italian regions of Apulia, Abruzzo, and Calabria. It is often eaten at Christmas.
Parrozzo or panrozzo is a traditional cake from the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is traditionally served as a Christmas dessert, but may also be enjoyed year round.
The traditional cuisine of Abruzzo is eclectic, drawing on pastoral, mountain, and coastal cuisine. Staples of Abruzzo cuisine include bread, pasta, meat, fish, cheese, and wine. The isolation which has characterized the region for centuries has ensured the independence of its culinary tradition from those of nearby regions. Local cuisine was widely appreciated in a 2013 survey among foreign tourists.
Spaghetti alla chitarra, also known as maccheroni alla chitarra, is a variety of egg pasta typical of the Abruzzo region of Italy, with a square cross section about 2–3 mm thick. Tonnarelli are a similar pasta from Lazio, used especially in the Roman cacio e pepe. Ciriole, traditionally from Molise, is the thicker version of chitarra, approximately twice the thickness of spaghetti. Because the pasta are cut from a sheet rather than extruded through a die, spaghetti alla chitarra are square rather than round in cross-section.
Giammarco Menga is an Italian sports journalist and author.
Christmas in Italy begins on 8 December, with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the day on which traditionally the Christmas tree is mounted and ends on 6 January, of the following year with the Epiphany, and in some areas female puppets are burned on a pyre, to symbolize, along with the end of the Christmas period, the death of the old year and the beginning of a new one. 26 December, is also a public holiday in Italy. The Italian term Natale derives from the Latin natalis, which literally means 'birth', and the greetings in Italian are buon Natale and felice Natale.
Cupeta or copeta is a dessert made from honey, dissolved sugar and diced almonds.
Coregone di Campotosto is a traditional fish dish from the Abruzzo region of Italy, typical of Lake Campotosto, this fish of subalpine origin that has found an ideal habitat in this lake. A request for recognition of native species was made to the Ministry. Thanks also to the very clean waters and selected nutrients, the quality of the whitefish meat is excellent and lends itself very well to the different ways of preparation. The fish is cooked roasted on the grill and then marinated in a preparation of vinegar and with oil and chilli pepper.
The confetti di Sulmona are candy-coated almonds, a speciality of the city of Sulmona, in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, where the oldest confectionary factory is located. They are commonly given as favors for weddings or other celebrations. Confetti di Sulmona sugar-coated almonds are often wrapped in brightly colored cellophane and arranged into flowers, or other shapes.
