DOLCI
DESSERTS
U’ PISCQUETT’L
Lemon Zest and Cherry Jam Cookies
Makes 30 cookies
Midway between Brindisi and Taranto, Ceglie Messapica is an ancient village rising on a plateau overlooking the olive groves and rolling hills of central Puglia. The town’s signature cookie, called u’ piscquett’l in the local dialect and biscotti di Ceglie in Italian, uses almond flour, a common ingredient in the south’s sweets, as the base of its dough, which is flavored with lemon zest and an orange liqueur called rosolio all’arancia. Traditionally, the cookies are filled with cherry jam made from fruit harvested in the late spring, but you can use any fruit jam you wish.
1 pound almond flour
⅓ cup sugar
⅓ cup honey
Zest of 1 lemon
¼ cup rosolio all’arancia or Limoncello (this page)
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup cherry jam
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, stir together the almond flour, sugar, honey, and lemon zest until thoroughly combined. Add the rosolio and the eggs. Using your hands or a wooden spoon, mix the dough in the bowl until all the liquid is incorporated. The dough should be tacky but not wet.
Take a fistful of the dough in your hand and press it onto a parchment paper–covered surface until it is a ½ inch thick and 2 × 4 inches wide. Spoon the cherry jam onto the center of the dough lengthwise, then, using the parchment paper to assist you, “wrap” the dough around the jam, rolling it into a log like sushi. Unwrap and slice crosswise into 1-inch-thick rounds. Repeat the parchment rolling and slicing with the remaining dough and jam.
Place the slices on the prepared baking sheets, spaced at least ½ inch apart, and bake until the cookies begin to turn golden, 15 minutes. The cookies will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
CROSTATA DI ROTONDA
Jam Tart with Lard Crust
Serves 8 to 10
Nicola Romano’s black pigs forage for food on his dozens of acres of land deep in northern Calabria’s Parco Nazionale della Sila. Trained as an accountant, Nicola found his passion for nature steering him away from his desk; today he raises Nero Calabrese pigs, a nearly extinct indigenous species. He works his animals into ’nduja, soppressata, and other chile-laced salumi under his family home in Acri. His friend Franca Cozzolino oversees the operation, and though she has a flair for grinding and seasoning meat, she’s also a talented baker. This is her famous crostata recipe, made with the rich rendered fat of Nicola’s Calabrese pigs, but you can use any high-quality lard, ideally from sustainably raised heritage pigs.
7 ounces pork lard
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 egg yolks
4 ounces sweet vermouth
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon baking soda
Unsalted butter, for greasing
1¼ cups sour cherry jam
½ cup roughly chopped walnuts
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the lard and sugar on medium speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the egg yolks and vermouth and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Add the flour and baking soda and mix on low speed until the dough just begins to come together, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle attachment and mix until the dough comes together and all the ingredients are incorporated, about 30 seconds more.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using your hands, gather the dough into a mass and, using a sharp knife or pastry cutter, divide it into two unequal pieces, about two thirds and one third. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour or up to 3 or 4 days. (If you chill the dough for longer than 1 hour, allow it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before using.)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 10-inch springform pan or fluted tart pan with butter.
Roll out the larger piece of dough between two lightly floured sheets of parchment paper to a diameter of 15 inches and a thickness of ¼ to ⅛ inch. Transfer it to the prepared pan, gently pressing it into the corners and up the sides; if you’re using a springform pan, the dough should come about ¾ inch up the sides. Repair any tears. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, roll out the smaller piece of the dough to the same thickness, then use a pastry wheel or sharp knife to cut it into 1-inch-wide strips. Freeze the strips until firm, about 5 minutes.
Remove the pan from the refrigerator, then spread the cherry jam over the chilled dough. Use the dough strips to create a simple lattice (see left) on top. Trim any loose ends of the strips to fit the pan and pinch them to adhere to the edges of the bottom crust. Sprinkle over the walnuts.
Bake until golden brown all over, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before unmolding, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately or wrap in aluminum foil and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
MAKING THE LATTICE
In South Italy, pastry shops don’t make lattices the way they do in the United States. They simply lay down the strips in one direction, then place a perpendicular layer on top. This method is perfectly acceptable and authentic, plus lard-based dough is sometimes difficult to weave.
Coffee only landed in Italy about three and a half centuries ago, but that’s plenty of time for the caffeinated drink to have become the south’s most iconic nonalcoholic beverage. Although coffee beans are indigenous to Ethiopia, they moved into Eastern Europe, then Central Europe, via the Ottoman Empire. Ethiopia remains a major producer of coffee, but production has also expanded to South and Central America, and today, most of Italy’s beans come from South America rather than East Africa. Regardless of provenance, to produce Italian-style coffee, the beans are harvested, dried, roasted, and finally ground before being forced through a machine with water.
Coffee is particularly synonymous with Naples, where Gran Caffè La Caffettiera in Piazza dei Martiri and Caffè Gambrinus overlooking the Royal Palace and Piazza del Plebiscito still retain their gilded unification era interiors. Meanwhile, Mexico, the coffee shop owned by the Passalacqua roasting company, has locations all over town dripping in coffee kitsch dating to the 1950s.
Regardless of setting, whether it’s a formal coffee house or a casual café, the price of an espresso hovers around 1 euro, making it an affordable necessity for most. At every time of day, patrons crowd around busy counters awaiting their orders, which drip into preheated cups—locals claim it’s more gentle on the hot coffee than a room temperature cup would be.
The most common coffee in the south is espresso and its name says it all: water is expressed through a machine, and it’s meant to be made and consumed quickly. It is served amaro (without sugar) or zuccherato (with sugar), and can be made macchiato (spiked with a bit of steamed milk). Milk-based coffees also include cappuccino (espresso accompanied by a generous amount of frothed milk) and caffè latte (warmed milk with a shot of espresso added). The large-format, syrup-laced, Starbucks-style coffees haven’t reached the south yet, so the most elaborate caffeinated drink you’ll encounter will be a caffè marocchino (espresso layered with cocoa powder and steamed milk).
While none of these coffees is unique to the south, one coffee-related custom is caffè sospeso, a Neapolitan tradition of covering the cost of a coffee for a future client who can’t afford it, a tacit acknowledgment that in Naples, coffee is a right and not a privilege.
PIGNA DI PASQUA
Easter Pound Cake
Makes one 15-inch cake, to serve 8 to 10
Until the 1960s in Cerreto Sannita in the interior of Campania, la pigna was prepared by women for their fiancés before Easter Sunday and presented on the morning of the holiday in order to demonstrate the women’s talents and value. Decoration became a way for women to express themselves and compete against one another, and accordingly, it was quite elaborate. These days, the tradition of gifting the cake to one’s future husband is long gone, but the pigna lives on in Cerreto’s bakeries, where it is sold brushed with a simple glaze.
FOR THE PIGNA BIGA
3½ ounces (100 grams) lukewarm water
1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup all-purpose flour
FOR THE PIGNA
5 eggs
1¼ cup granulated sugar
5 cups all-purpose flour
6 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
3 ounces dry white wine
3 ounces Liquore Strega
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon aniseeds
Unsalted butter, for greasing
Make the Pigna Biga: Pour the warm water into a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast over top. Set aside for a few minutes, until the yeast has dissolved. Stir in the flour until it forms a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the mixture to ferment at room temperature overnight, or 10 to 12 hours.
Make the Pigna: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the flour, olive oil, white wine, Strega, lemon zest, lemon juice, orange zest, and aniseeds. Beat on medium speed until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add the Pigna Biga and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes more.
Grease a 15-inch Bundt pan or high-sided 10-inch springform pan.
Scrape the mixture into the Bundt pan. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 4 to 6 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Unwrap and bake until cooked through and browned, about 35 minutes. Let cool before unmolding, about 45 minutes. The pigna will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for about 1 week.
GIURGIULENA
Calabrian Sesame-Nut Brittle
Makes about twenty 2-inch squares
The eighth-century Arab conquest of the south brought new ingredients and sweets to the Italian peninsula (see this page). One of these, called cupetta in the Benevento and Salentino dialects and giurgiulena in Castrovillari, Calabria, is made with sugar, honey, and sesame seeds. This long-lasting nut brittle was traditionally served around Christmastime, spooned onto washed orange leaves, but today it is sliced into bars. The sprinkles add color and a festive flair that is common in the sweets of the south. This recipe comes from La Locanda di Alia in Castrovillari, Calabria, where Daniela Alia makes them for the holiday season.
Unsalted butter, for greasing
5 tablespoons sugar
1½ cups (about 16 ounces) honey (I like orange blossom honey)
1 pound sesame seeds
4½ ounces almonds, raw and unbleached
Zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons colored sprinkles
Grease parchment paper with butter and set aside on a large baking sheet.
In a large, deep pan, combine the sugar and honey over medium heat. When the sugar has dissolved into the honey, add the sesame seeds and cook, stirring frequently, until the seeds turn a shade darker, about 15 minutes. Add the almonds and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes more.
Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the orange zest and cinnamon and set aside until the mixture is cool enough to handle.
Carefully pour the mixture onto the prepared parchment. While it’s still warm, use a heatproof spatula to flatten the mixture to ½-inch thickness. Scatter the colored sprinkles over the mixture and lightly press them in with your fingertips. While still warm, cut into 2-inch diamonds on a diagonal using a sharp knife. Set aside to cool completely.
Giurgiulena will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for several months.
PASTORELLE
Chestnut-and-Chocolate-Filled Christmas Cookies
Makes 20 pastorelle
Pastorelle are so-called because they would be made by daughters of pastori (shepherds) when they got engaged. The cookies were evidently so popular, they became a Christmas treat all over Cilento’s Vallo di Diano, and especially in Cuccaro Vetere. They are shaped with four points to symbolize the star that attracted the Magi to Bethlehem.
FOR THE FILLING
½ cup heavy cream
4½ ounces dark chocolate, chopped
8 ounces chestnut puree, passed through a fine-mesh strainer
¼ cup granulated sugar
Zest of ½ lemon
FOR THE DOUGH
1 pound all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup water, plus more as needed
Neutral oil (see this page), for frying
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Make the filling: In a medium saucepan, heat the cream over low heat, stirring to prevent scalding, until very hot and steaming but not boiling. Place the chocolate in a large bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit for about 2 minutes to melt the chocolate, then stir until smooth and well combined.
Add the chestnut puree, granulated sugar, and lemon zest to the chocolate and, using a handheld mixer, beat until creamy, about 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before using.
Make the dough: Pour the flour and sugar onto a work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the olive oil and water to the well. Mix by hand, working from the edges into the center to gradually incorporate the ingredients. Add more water as needed to create a smooth, soft dough. Knead the dough until incorporated. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough into a ⅛-inch-thick sheet. Using a circular cookie cutter or the rim of a juice glass, cut the dough into forty 3-inch rounds.
Spoon a tablespoon of the chestnut filling onto half the dough rounds. Cover each with one of the remaining dough rounds. Press the edges of the dough rounds together around the filling, taking care to fit the top layer tightly around the filling. Using your index finger and thumb, pinch the sides of the sealed dough into four points.
In a medium frying pan or cast-iron skillet, heat 2 inches of oil to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
Fry the cookies, working in batches as needed, until evenly golden brown, turning once, about 5 minutes total. Drain on the lined baking sheet. Serve dusted with confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder. The pastorelle will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
‘MPIGNE
Potato Cookies
Makes 30 cookies
Potatoes thrive in the sandy soil of Molise’s mountainous land. The tuber is so abundant that it finds its way into every corner of the kitchen, including cookies. These ring-shaped, vanilla-scented potato cookies are a simple sweet for concluding a meal and pair well with an espresso or even a digestif.
2 ounces warm water
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
4½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
⅓ pound potatoes (I like russets), boiled, peeled, and mashed
¼ cup whole milk
Zest of 1 lemon
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
Pinch sea salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pour the warm water into a medium bowl and sprinkle the yeast over top. Set aside for a few minutes, until the yeast has dissolved. Add ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of the flour and stir to incorporate. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs and sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, milk, lemon zest, vanilla bean seeds, salt, and butter. Add the remaining 4 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, beating on medium speed to eliminate lumps after each addition. Add the yeast mixture and beat together on medium speed for 5 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Working in batches using floured hands, roll the dough into ½-inch-thick ropes. Cut the ropes into 5-inch pieces, shape each piece into a ring by connecting the ends, and place the rings on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside to rise for 30 minutes.
Beat the egg yolk and brush it over the rested ‘mpigne. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely in the pans or on a wire rack.
The cookies will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
I’ll never forget my first visit to Puglia. I went home with a friend to visit his family. We nearly suffocated on the overnight train from Rome—even in the oppressive August heat, southbound travelers prefer stifling air to open windows, fearing a draft on their sweaty necks could cause a colpo di vento (literally “a strike from the wind,” a widely feared affliction in the south).
My friend’s father picked us up at the station; he was a psychologist by occupation, but I am certain he could have earned a living foraging for fruits and herbs. Over the course of our trip, he rarely drove a mile without pulling over and plucking a dozen warm figs from a strangers’ field or grabbing prickly pears from a cluster of cacti with his bare, caloused hands. Each day at lunch and dinner, he would diligently peel the fruit, distributing plump figs or fluorescent pink prickly pears or whatever else to everyone at the table.
I learned some important things on that trip. One was that I could re-create many recipes of the south wherever I was—my Cozze Ripiene (this page) tastes identical to the one my friend’s mother makes. But another was that eating a single piece of fruit plucked fresh can be more satisfying than any cake, wedge of chocolate, or bowlful of gelato. And to experience that, you must visit the south.
MANDORLACCIO
Country-Style Almond Cake
Serves 8 to 10
In Puglia, almond trees aren’t quite as common as olive trees, but they are pretty close. The tree’s fruit (the almond) emerges in a fuzzy green husk that dries out and turns brown as it matures. The almond within can be eaten raw, dried, or toasted and appears in both sweet and savory dishes across the region. Ground almonds can be used to make almond meal or almond flour (the distinction being that almond flour is generally ground from blanched almonds). Mandorlaccio, a flourless cake from Ruvo di Puglia, a village near Bari, uses almond flour instead of wheat flour and is one of many nut-based gluten-free cakes from the south.
5 eggs, separated
½ cup sugar
Pinch of sea salt
2 cups almond flour
1 tablespoon honey
2 ounces almond praline, roughly chopped
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until smooth. Add the almond flour and the honey and beat until combined.
In a medium bowl using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold a third of the egg whites into the almond mixture with a spatula. Add the remaining egg whites, folding gently from the bottom until fully incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle evenly with the almond praline.
Bake until cooked through and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the pan before unmolding, about 30 minutes.
The cake will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a week.
LINGUE DI PROCIDA
Lemon Cream–Filled Puff Pastry
Makes 10 lingue
While many visitors to Naples hightail it to Capri or Ischia, my favorite island in the bay is Procida, a comparatively small volcanic crescent that’s home to a few pretty pastel-hued fishing villages and a handful of volcanic sand beaches. I like to stay in the middle of the island, above the stunning Chiaiolella beach, and every morning I walk to the port 30 minutes away for a lingua, the island’s signature pastry, and a coffee before settling in for a tan and a swim. Since the island is popular with Neapolitan day-trippers and summer residents (mostly from Naples), bakeries are constantly baking off these fresh pastries with rounded edges named for their shape—lingua means “tongue” in Italian.
2 egg yolks
¼ cup granulated sugar, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of sea salt
¾ cup whole milk
Zest of 1 lemon
1 pound Puff Pastry, homemade (this page) or store-bought
1 egg white, beaten
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, corn starch, salt, milk, and lemon zest. Heat the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it simmers, about 4 minutes. Lift the saucepan occasionally to diffuse the heat and prevent scalding. Simmer, whisking constantly, until the cream thickens, about 1 minute more. The whisk should leave a trail in the cream.
Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap so the plastic touches the surface of the cream. This will prevent a skin from forming. Set the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice water. Cool the cream completely.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll out the puff pastry into a rectangle that is approximately 10 × 20 inches and less than ⅛ inch thick. Using a knife, cut the dough into 20 rectangles measuring 5 × 2 inches each. Lay 10 of the rectangles on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about ¼ inch between each.
Spoon the cream onto the rectangles, distributing it evenly and keeping the cream in the middle, ½ inch away from each edge. Cover each with one of the remaining 10 rectangles and seal the edges with water. Using a sharp knife or pastry cutter, round off the edges so the pastries are shaped like elongated ovals. Brush the top of each pastry with egg white, sprinkle with sugar, and bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately or allow to cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Puff Pastry
Makes 1 pound (about ½ kilogram) puff pastry
250 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3 grams (½ teaspoon) sea salt
250 grams (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
125 milliliters (½ cup) ice-cold water
Sift the flour and salt onto a work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the butter to the well and work it into the flour by hand, squeezing the pieces flat as you go. Continue to mix quickly and lightly with your fingertips until the butter is grainy and flour-covered.
Sprinkle half the ice water over the flour mixture and gather the dough into a ball. Add additional water by the tablespoon until a shaggy dough, neither sticky nor shiny, forms. (You may not need all the water.)
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, working in only one direction, roll the dough into a rectangle that is approximately 10 × 5 inches and ⅛ inch thick.
With one short edge facing you, fold the top third farthest from you toward the middle, then the bottom third over that like a letter. Turn the dough clockwise a quarter turn, so that the open fold is now facing you. Roll this dough again into a 10 × 5-inch rectangle and repeat the folds. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Repeat the rolling-and-turning process once more and allow the dough to chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before using. It will keep, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 4 weeks.
MULIGNANA C’A’ CIUCCULATA
Fried Eggplant Smothered in Chocolate
Serves 4 to 6
Maori, home to the Amalfi Coast’s longest sand beach, is flanked by watchtowers that once defended the town against invasions from the sea. In the eighth century, Arab invaders conquered the town, bringing with them what were at the time exotic ingredients like eggplants (see this page), which now dominate local menus, even appearing in sweets. Each year around Ferragosto, the mid-August holiday celebrating the Assumption of the Virgin, Maori residents gather around tables to enjoy mulignana c’a’ ciucculata, fried eggplant drenched in spiced melted chocolate and studded with candied fruits and nuts. Although locals claim the dish is almost a thousand years old, chocolate didn’t arrive in the area until after the discovery of the New World—the Spanish who controlled Campania until 1861 introduced bitter chocolate to the region—so its age is likely only a century or two. Some cooks use an herb-infused liqueur called concerto in the dish. The liqueur comes from the Tramonti convent near Maori, but you can replace it with grappa or Strega.
Neutral oil (see this page) or olive oil, for frying
3 slender eggplants, peeled and sliced crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices
1 cup all-purpose flour
Sea salt
1½ cups heavy cream
6 ounces dark chocolate, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons concerto or Liquore Strega
¼ cup candied orange zest, cut into ¼-inch pieces
¼ cup roughly chopped almonds
Maldon salt to finish
In a medium frying pan or cast-iron skillet, heat 2 inches of oil to 350°F. Line a wire rack with paper towels.
Place the flour in a shallow medium bowl. Dip each slice of eggplant in flour, shaking off any excess. Add the eggplant to the hot oil, working in batches as needed, and fry until golden brown. Transfer to the lined rack to drain and immediately season with sea salt.
In a medium saucepan, heat the cream over low heat, stirring to prevent scalding, until very hot and steaming but not boiling. Place the chocolate in a large bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit for about 2 minutes to melt the chocolate, then stir until smooth and well combined. Stir in the concerto. Set aside to cool completely, about 20 minutes.
Dip the eggplant into the chocolate, allowing excess to drip off, and place in a medium baking dish until one layer is complete. Sprinkle orange zest and almonds over the layer. Repeat until the eggplant and toppings have been used, ending with chocolate. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Slice into rectangles and serve with Maldon salt.
NOTE The flavor of eggplants develops throughout their growing season. Young eggplant shouldn’t require salting, but later on, they may develop a bitter flavor. Salting reduces bitterness and improves texture. Lay the eggplant slices in a colander or on a wire rack over the sink, sprinkle with salt, and place a heavy plate on top. Allow to rest for about an hour before rinsing.