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Ingredients 2 1/8 cups flour
Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Notes This recipe is one of the strangest Italian holiday breads that I have ever come across in my lifetime (And as I am not so young, that is a pretty long time!). I tried out the recipe expecting to hate it. The idea of combining Parmesan and sugar was repulsive. There are many Italian desserts that are served at the end of the meal that are not sweet (e.g. Molise's unsweetened, sharp cheese fiadone) but these desserts don't mix sweet and sharp ingredients. The sharp stays sharp. Unexpectedly, this recipe turned out to be O.K.. Actually, it was more than O.K. It was quite good. I used a combination of nuts (walnut pieces, slivered pistachios, almond flakes and pine nuts). The nuts were expensive, as was the cheese, so it was a good thing the end result was edible. It certainly was interesting (And that counts for something in this world of ours where anything edible can be had be it from across town or across the world!). I might even offer this holiday bread (Or is it a cake?) to guests and ask them to identify the ingredients. I expect quite a few people will figure out there are apples in it, but I imagine the majority will not guess there is Parmesan cheese in it. Just a thought. Comments and photo: Mary Melfi. |