In the beginning it was the Pane di Toni, "El pan del Toni" in the Milanese dialect of the time. So much liked that Pane di Toni, one of the scullery maids in Ludovico il Moro's kitchen, that the Panettone - after centuries - it remains the undisputed king of the Christmas table in northern Italy. And not only. It is one of the Italian gastronomic excellences. Flour, sugar, butter, eggs, yeast, a handful of dried fruit, this is what the scullery / pastry chef had found at the last moment in the kitchen of the Moro, after having left the donuts that were supposed to close the Christmas Eve dinner burn in the oven. . The dessert was very popular, both the host and his guests. As they like today, inevitable under the Christmas tree.
A sweet Christmas with Lombard panettone, Julian presnitz, South Tyrolean biscuits
Many and as always (and everywhere) closely linked to tradition are the dishes that characterize the Christmas tables in northern Italy. Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas lunch are celebrated following recipe books where the gastronomic knowledge of generations, the typicality of the product linked to the territory and the season, the different interpretation that each family gives to their Christmas menu. A real ritual of gastronomy. Let's start from the north-east. In Trieste, a border land with ubiquitous Austro-Hungarian influences, the typical Christmas cake is Presnitz. Many recipes, each family has its own. It is a roll of puff pastry with a very rich filling based on dried fruit: walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, raisins, figs and plums. But also, if desired, spices and grated chocolate. A scent of rum, a little bit of orange aroma. Once ready, the roll closes in a spiral and is cooked. This is how it is accompanied by a glass of Picolit or Ramandolo wine.
The cjarsons, contaminations of Central Europe in the Christmas menus of Carnia
Putizza e gubana they are variations of the same dessert, with slightly different pastes and fillings according to the areas of origin. All however between Venezia Giulia and Friuli. Here the main dish of the Christmas lunch is there "Brovada and muset", true treasure of Friulian food and wine. Why food and wine? Because the brovada is nothing more than a side dish of white turnips fermented in the marc. Their strong and pungent flavor goes well with muset, a sausage similar to cotechino and typical of the area. If this is the second, one cannot fail to remember a very Friulian first Christmas dish, i cjarsons, typical of the mountains of Carnia. A kind of agnolotti with a sweet (and very Central European) flavor with plum, cinnamon and cocoa, but also salty with a filling of herbs.
Trentino Alto Adige opens the Christmas lunch with the Canederli in Broth (bread dumplings flavored with speck, onion, sometimes spinach and gray cheese, typical of the area). It closes with a triumph of cookies which come in infinite shapes, variations and flavors. A must for Christmas in South Tyrol. These biscuits can be prepared well in advance and in large quantities. They are kept in the typical tin boxes and are served throughout the Christmas period. They are the result of affinity with the neighboring Austrian Tyrol, where the menus are more or less the same.
Roasted or stewed eel protagonist of Christmas Eve dishes in the lands of the Po delta
Beef or chicken broth with tortellini or ravioli traditionally open Christmas lunch in most of the other regions of northern Italy. As well as the starters based on cold cuts, among the best specialties of the North of our peninsula. In Venice, very Christmas is creamed cod on top of a slice of toasted polenta and, at the end of the meal, a dessert based on baicoli (traditional Venetian dry biscuits) mascarpone and Venetian mustard. A specialty of the Christmas Eve dinner, in the areas close to the Po river delta, is theeel: roasted, stewed, according to family traditions. It is a very popular fish during the Christmas period, in these parts and beyond. A separate chapter deserves the Pandoro of Verona, which has now become a typically Christmas dessert throughout the peninsula. Pandoro also has ancient origins and is often accompanied or stuffed with zabaglione or mascarpone cream.
Boiled meats with mustard, braised in Barolo, zampone and cotechino for a magical Christmas even at the table
In Mantua at Christmas it is a triumph of pumpkin tortelli, especially for the dinner on the 24th and mustards, typical more or less spicy fruit-based preserves to accompany, as in all of northern Italy, with main courses based on mixed boiled meats. But also capons, turkeys stuffed with chestnuts, braised in Barolo in Piedmont where the excellent wines produced in these parts cannot be missing on the party table. Passatelli in broth, zampone, cotechino and we already know that we are talking about Christmas menus in Emilia Romagna. Zampone and cotechino are often accompanied by stewed beans and mashed potatoes. Finally we close on a sweet note. If in Liguria at the end of the Christmas lunch you cannot miss the Genoa Cake (ancient dessert filled with candied fruit, raisins and pine nuts), a spectacular Montblanc, a luscious dessert based on chestnut puree, meringues and whipped cream whose origins are probably linked to neighboring France and the cuisines of the House of Savoy.
