![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/centmagazine.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/CarlucciosXmasProducts2019_TradizionalePanettone.jpg?resize=580%2C580\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nA moist and airy\nsponge made with butter, candied peal and sultanas, finished with a crunchy\nhazelnut icing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Most people are\nfamiliar with the traditional Italian Panettone, and it\u2019s my personal\nfavourite. We\u2019ve been sourcing our Panettone from the same producer for 20\nyears, ever since they started out as a small patisserie in Piemonte baking\ncakes and biscuits in the back room. The producer and I have regular chats on\nthe phone, and he is an absolute goldmine of information about who does what,\nwho supplies who and what is most popular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mostaccioli Alle Noci, Fig molasses and walnut biscuits from Calabria.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m Neapolitan with a hint of Calabrian, so the Mostaccioli remind me of home, although I can\u2019t really bake them. Mostaccioli are made all over southern Italy as lozenge-shaped biscuits, often made with honey, but the difference between the regional varieties is remarkable. In Napoli, they are simple, not very sweet and coated in dark chocolate and are only made at Christmas. These Mostaccioli are completely different as they are from Calabria and transport me back in time with every bite. The biscuits are topped with walnuts with a chewy texture and somewhat earthy taste as they are made with Calabrian \u201cfig honey\u201d. The fig honey is a form of molasses, the end result of a fig syrup reduction, which gives them a unique texture and flavour reminiscent of ancient preserving methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortissimo Chilli gift box, Chilli Filei pasta 500g, chilli oil 25cl, chilli pesto 180g, crushed chilli 20g, chilli seeds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Carluccio\u2019s offers a\nlarge variety of gift boxes, and this one is my favourite. Perhaps because of\nits varied selection, or perhaps because of my passion for spice. The Chilli\nFilei pasta included has a popular shape specific to the Tyrrhenian coast,\nwhere our producer is based. It\u2019s very chunky with a satisfying bite, and with\nthe addition of chilli to the pasta dough, little else is needed. It\u2019s the type of pasta that is not just the\nbase for a dish, but the main star. The chilli oil, pesto and crushed dried\nchillies can be used together or on their own in plenty of dishes. The chilli pot\nis hand-made in Calabria and the seeds originate from there as well, so you can\ngrow a piece of my home in yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ricciarelli, Traditional soft almond biscuits from Tuscany.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ricciarelli have been\na part of Carluccio\u2019s Christmas range since the beginning and have been very\npopular throughout the years. Originating in Tuscany, these simple flourless biscuits,\nmade with almonds, egg whites and sugar are soft inside with a crunchy cracked exterior\nfrom the icing sugar that is sprinkled on top before baking. They most likely originated\nfrom marzipan, popular in Tuscany since the Middle ages when they were brought\nback from the Middle East by returning crusaders. Tuscany has always been a popular\ntourist destination amongst British tourists, so it is quite natural that this\nItalian treat is widely recognised here the UK, just like Cantucci<\/em>, Panforte<\/em>\nor wild boar ragu<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Limoncello Flask, Limoncello made with Limoni di Sorrento in a hand-painted flask.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The producer of this\nlimoncello has become a friend over the years, and has also managed to become a\nbit of a celebrity here at Carluccio\u2019s. Some time ago I asked him to shoot a\nvideo for staff training and he sent back a video of himself and his sister\nwith the most beautiful background views of the sea and cliffs in Vico Equense on\nthe Sorrento Coast, where they live and work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For this Christmas he suggested this cute ceramic flask, which is made locally. Being Neapolitan, I can make my own Limoncello (and brag about it extensively), but this is made with Sorrento lemons, which cannot be found in the UK. The \u201cOvale di Sorrento\u201d is a cultivar of large lemons, grown on the volcanic soil of the Sorrento Coast and the island of Capri. It has a rind particularly rich in oils that make them very aromatic, which is the part of the lemon used to make Limoncello. In fact, the European scheme that grants the geographic origin protection is aimed at emphasising how some characteristics of a product are attributable to its geographic origins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For many Italian specialties click onto their site www.carluccios.com\/shop<\/a>\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We might say that Paola Pignataro is a good Italian girl (well, lady). She is one of those remarkable women that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[14106,14107,14108],"features_issues":[],"featured_themes":[],"ppma_author":[16671],"class_list":["post-62144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-100-percent-design","tag-christmas-food","tag-italian-food","tag-regional-food"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/centmagazine.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/CarlucciosXmasProducts2019_MostaccioliAlleNoci-1.jpg?resize=580%2C580\")
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