Tiramisu is an Italian dessert made of ladyfinger pastries dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks, sugar, and mascarpone, and flavoured with cocoa powder. The recipe has been adapted into many varieties of cakes and other desserts. Its origin is disputed between the Italian regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The name comes from the Italian tirami su.
Cannoli are Sicilian pastries consisting of a tube-shaped shell of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling containing ricotta cheese. Their size ranges from 9 to 20 centimetres. They have since spread to mainland Italy, where they are known as cannolo siciliano.
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.
Gnocchi are a varied family of dumplings in Italian cuisine. They are made of small rolls of dough, such as those composed of a simple combination of wheat flour, potato, egg, and salt. Variations of the dish supplement the simple recipe with flavour additives, such as semolina flour, cheese, breadcrumbs, cornmeal or similar ingredients, and possibly including herbs, vegetables, and other ingredients. Base ingredients may be substituted with alternatives such as sweet potatoes for potatoes or rice flour for wheat flour. Such variations are often considered to be non-traditional.
Pizzelle are Italian waffle cookies made with flour, eggs, sugar, butter or vegetable oil, and flavoring. Pizzelle are also known as ferratelle, nevole or catarrette in some parts of Abruzzo, as ferratelle in Lazio, and as ferratelle, cancelle or pizzelle in Molise.
Turrón, torró or torrone is a Mediterranean 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 Catalunya, Spain and Italy. In Malta it is sold in street stalls as qubbajd during the parish patron saint feast of the various localities.
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, although 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.
Sfogliatella is a shell-shaped pastry with a sweet or creamy filling, originating in the Campania region of Italy. Sfogliatella means 'small, thin leaf/layer', as the pastry's texture resembles stacked leaves.
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. 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 widely appreciated gastronomies worldwide.
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.
Timballo is an Italian baked dish consisting of pasta, rice or potatoes, with one or more other ingredients included. Variations include the mushroom and shrimp sauce timballo Alberoni, named after Giulio Alberoni, and the veal and tomato sauce timballo pattadese.
Bocconotto is a pastry typical of the Italian regions of Abruzzo, Apulia and Calabria. It is often eaten at Christmas.
Parrozzo or panrozzo is a 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.
The crocetta di Caltanissetta is a traditional Italian sweet pastry that was produced in the comune (municipality) of Caltanissetta, Sicily, until the end of 1908, then forgotten about, and which has recently been rediscovered. The crocetta di Caltanissetta and the spina sacra are two pastry dishes that were traditionally prepared for the feast of the Most Holy Crucifix by the Sisters of the Benedictine Monastery. This monastery was located next to the Church of Santa Croce, from which these sweet pastries take their name.
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.
The confetti di Sulmona are Italian candy-coated almonds or dragées, a speciality of the comune (municipality) of Sulmona, in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, where the oldest confectionery 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.
