For recipe see Italy Revisited/"Calconi"

Marche's "piconi" seem more or less identical to Molise's famous savory Easter cheese pastries called "fiadoni." Like Molise's "fiadoni," Marche's "piconi" cheese-filled pastries also seem to come in two distinct versions -- the sweet kind and the savory kind. Possibly, this style of Easter delicacy are is made in Abruzzo. Incidentally both the sweet kind and the savory one are (Well, used to be) served after the meal, with the desserts. Nowadays, the savory kind is often served at the start of the Easter meal as an entre, but those families that retain the "traditions" keep these cheese pastries for the end of the meal. It wouldn't come as a surprise if these "piconi" go by different names. Molise's fiadoni go by dozens of different names depending on the area they come from -- could be anything from "fiatoni to "hiatun." They also go by other names, and one of these names is "calcione." Not all "calcione" recipes include cheese (some are made with chickpeas or chestnuts) but those that do include cheese are very similar to "picone." The spelling of the word, "calcione," varies from town to town. Spellings include: "calcione, cacioni, caciu, calcioni, caveciune, caveciuni, cauciune, cauciuni, cauciun', calciume, calciumi, calciune, calciuni, calciuni, caucione, caucioni, caucine, caucini, cavazune and cavazuni." If one wants to find variations on the "piconi" recipe offered in this entry one can investigate the recipes for "fiadone" and cheese "calcione" and see if they suit one's taste. Comments and photo: Mary Melfi.

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