The Easter Colomba, savory, decomposed, with apricots, the gourmet trend - Food

As with panettone and pandoro, the colomba is no longer the colomba it once was. Or rather with the shape of a dove which refers to the symbols of the Easter of Resurrection, emblem of hope and salvation (a cherished meaning which in 2024 becomes truly auspicious) the soft dessert, alongside classic and traditional ingredients, becomes a way to experiment with something else. Obviously market needs, which want diversification, modernity, but also the creative application of gourmet artisan skills. And so if we have understood that the traditional colomba (as well as Christmas desserts) made in pastry shops is generally tastier, fresher and more satisfying than an industrially produced colomba, what we discover again this year as a trend concerns the variations, possible other combinations of ingredients, provided you obviously spend a little more. Industrial does not necessarily mean low quality and the control on foods is indeed rigorous but as with all mass-produced foods, they will contain more preservatives and additives while the simpler and less refined the foods we eat, the healthier they are. But on the non-traditional dove this year there is a boom in the market and supermarket. 

At

the Easter proposal is enriched with five new gourmet recipes that combine exotic ingredients and delicious reinterpretations. From the delicate notes of coconut to the tropical ones of pineapple, up to the boldness of salted caramel: the dough is made with natural sourdough created by the founder Angelo Vergani, then soft wheat flour, butter, honey, eggs from free-range hens , Italian candied orange peel, almonds and Bourbon vanilla from Madagascar. There are the Coconut and Double Chocolate, the Pistachio, Apricot and Pineapple, the Pistachio Gluten Free, the wholemeal with honey and the Salted Caramel and Pecan Nut Cream.

Classic, with pistachio, gourmet and even in the savory version (just like panettone), the Easter colomba is a classic on festively laid tables.

There is also the pear and dark chocolate version proposed by

.

focuses on the classic version, a soft sweet bread, obtained thanks to 72 hours of processing, made using an infusion of Bourbon vanilla from Madagascar and cubes of candied orange peel in an open-air tank with light syrup, soft on the inside outside the glaze decorated with almonds and sugar nuggets but also focuses on the 3 chocolate variant. Melegatti in collaboration with Ambrosoli offers the "Colomba Latte e Miele" a soft leavened product made with Mother Yeast enriched with Ambrosoli Milk and Honey cream. Among the novelties this year

also introduces the chocolaty colomba, filled with chocolate cream and decorated with chocolate curls and dark chocolate covering and three other variants: with limoncello di Capri, with chocolate and the Tiramisu colomba. At

there is also a new version of colomba covered with lemon and almonds alongside the classic one.

Chef

, in his restaurant in Milan (or also in delivery) tests the roasted apricot colomba, characterized by only slightly candied fruit cubes to guarantee a natural aroma and a creamy consistency. The Neapolitan dough master

(n.1 in the 50 Top Pizza World 2023) dedicates a new line of colombe to his city available in 4 different flavors and brings a bit of Naples throughout Italy. Alongside the traditional one with almond icing, this year there are also those with Amalfi Coast Lemon PGI, with candied lemon and white chocolate icing, the Pellecchiella del Vesuvio colomba, with semi-candied apricot and white chocolate icing and the Capres, which recalls the famous Caprese cake, with cocoa dough, 68% Morogoro dark chocolate, icing with pralined almonds. “For the classic colomba I chose to remain faithful to traditions: the result is a silky and soft pastry, interspersed with Italian candied orange and embellished with Bourbon vanilla. To obtain this result, the yeast is refreshed 3 times at intervals of 3 and a half hours, for a total of almost 24 hours of leavening. For the three other versions I wanted to create three colombe that could 'speak' Neapolitan, using important local materials, such as the Amalfi lemon or the pellecchiella from Vesuvius", says Diego Vitagliano who makes a strictly artisanal colomba. From

in Rome the colomba is found in jar cooking, in a savory version for Easter Monday (made with Burroliva (therefore without the classic butter of animal origin) with pieces of bacon and artichokes inside, or in sweet variations with cocoa dough, sourdough , vanilla from Madagascar, Agrimontana acacia honey from Italian bees, gianduia chocolate and pellecchiella apricot from Vesuvius, Noto almonds for the glazing or even raspberry and pistachio. The great leavened products for the holidays, such as panettone and colomba, are traditional, but often even the most divisive ones for lunches. Those who maintain that candied fruit must be there, otherwise they are not a real dove, those who hate them and don't even want to hear about them. Whether it's classic or new variations, everyone agrees on one point: it must be the dough is good. Recognizing the quality of the product from its packaging, however, is not at all simple. "With such a wide and varied offer of products, from supermarkets to pastry shops, it is sometimes difficult to find the perfect colomba for everyone's palate diners. – comments

, owner of the Group to which Don Peppinu and Marzapani belong – It must be said, then, that products defined as artisanal are not always really better than supermarket ones. Today, many people use dried sourdough powder, which helps and accelerates the production processes, making it possible to create a great leavened product in just about 48 hours. Sure, it's faster and the risk of error decreases, but the result is markedly different. We use exclusively fresh sourdough, which grows in water and is refreshed at least once a day. If it must be used, we revive it 3 times a day, at least 3 and a half hours apart. 10 hours just for the preparation of the yeast, a process that with dried yeast takes place in 10 seconds. It's worth it, and the taste is markedly different." However, the issue of personal tastes remains, which can often be very divisive. Hence the idea of ​​the

it is possible to order an empty colomba, soft and pure, without any filling, and then choose all the fillings you want separately: fresh orange candied by hand, raisins macerated in Marsala, creamy chocolate from Modica, pistachio, Mou, or late mandarin jams and more. Everyone can fill their dessert however you want. And what about the candied issue? “Many people say they hate candied fruit, but it's because they've never eaten real artisanal candied fruit. These have a completely different taste from industrial ones, which are dry, tasteless or even sour or acidic. We prepare them by hand in our laboratory using only the best Sicilian oranges, then we candiate them in a vacuum, thus managing to cook the fruit much less, and you can understand this from the bright color and the aromatic bouquet, which remains the same as that of the fresh fruit . What we obtain is a less sweet, fresher and softer candied fruit, which keeps its aroma intact” he concludes. The yeast that the Neapolitan Master Pastry Chef

treats as if he were a son to make the Colomba cakes is called "Gennarino": the multi-sensory journey to discover the sweetness and refinement of Easter leavened products begins with the Classic version, made with Navel orange peel of Calabria, continues with the Multicereali, with Multigrain dough with wild berries and late Mandarin from Ciaculli PGI and white chocolate and dehydrated raspberry icing. We move on to the Nocciolata, with a Giffoni hazelnut mixture and three chocolates (Belgian white, milk-gianduja and 70% single-origin Sao Thome dark chocolate) glazed with white chocolate, Giffoni hazelnut paste, chocolate-covered cereals. The Vesuviana, on the other hand, is a tribute to the territory with “Pellecchiella” apricots from Vesuvius, Belgian white chocolate and Tonka bean, glazed with almonds and granulated sugar. A tribute to Southern Italy is the Mediterranean colomba with wild strawberries and glazed with white chocolate, Sicilian pistachio paste and caramelized pistachios, accompanied by a fine jar of pistachio cream. New this year, after the success of last Christmas's panettone, is the Campana colomba with Annurca PGI apple and cinnamon.

The haute patisserie of

(who has just opened a flagship store at the Galleria Alberto Sordi in Rome) includes, in addition to the traditional one, colombe with Pistachio, Cocoa and Chocolate, Without Candied Fruit, Coconut and Cinnamon (new this year) and the new Limited Edition Chocolate and Raspberry.

invented the Colomba with vinegar inside the dough. 3 Medaglie d'Oro gives the dessert the typical aromas and flavors of plum and red fruit jams, as well as the hints of honey and vanilla obtained from the refinement in barriques of oak while the raisins themselves are macerated in Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI which, together with the cream filling, give a fragrant aroma to the great leavened product. The perception of bittersweetness is finally made pleasant by the dark chocolate icing that covers the dove.

Thus, in addition to the classic ingredients - butter, fresh eggs, candied citrus peels and yeast - the new trend is to experiment with new combinations, being inspired by the typical products of Italian cuisine to obtain recipes never tried before. This is what Tommy Er Cuoco, owner of "Trattoria Tommy" in Padiglione near Anzio, on the northern coast of Rome, is doing: he has created a recipe with free-range organic eggs, dairy butter, freeze-dried ground tomato and dried tomatoes, to which adds a truly special touch: caramelized bacon and dough enriched with pepper, pecorino and chilli pepper. The innovative result is an amatriciana-style colomba covered with a crunchy pecorino glaze, with a sweet and savory taste at the same time. “The idea of ​​the

was born from the desire to bring a unique product of its kind to the tables of Italians, which fully reflects the Roman tradition,” says Tommy Er Cuoco, inspired by the success achieved with the Carbonara panettone. “It is a savory dessert, with a sweetish aftertaste, with the typical flavor of Easter leavened products, which I created thanks to the precious collaboration with the Solo da Manduca pastry shop in Aprilia”. For this Easter,

makes Varignano di Brisighella DOP extra virgin olive oil the protagonist with its Easter dessert: created by Master Pastry Chef Gino Fabbri. An original leavened product: where the traditional Colomba is associated with the unique characteristics of an extra virgin olive oil with a persistent aroma and a strong personality. Other delicious variations are with lemon, pistachio and berries from the Amaretti Virginia brand on QVC.it. On an artisanal level, the colomba is also 'stuff' for pizza chefs. Word of Luca Cornacchia, master of

in Chieti (new 2 segments 'Pizzerie d'Italia' 2024 by Gambero Rosso): the long craftsmanship can be felt and makes the difference: the colomba is soft at the right point, fragrant and super-digestible (thanks to a long leavening) in five variants for Easter 2024, in addition to the traditional one, the one with figs, the one with the annurca apple, the tropical one and the one with the Pellecchiella apricot.

The dessert cocktail trend

Among the novelties also the

. As recently reported by Forbes, this international trend concerns those who want something tasty at the end of a holiday meal but have no room left for another bite. Not just at home, Nation's Restaurant News suggests that these variations will also be increasingly offered in restaurants to make a classic dessert "drinkable". And so, a team of expert drinksetters brought together by Anthology by Mavolo created 5 "desserts to drink" at Easter, a drink list to conclude the most important lunch of Holy Week with originality and creativity. From the union of cinnamon syrup and Brave New Spirits Lighthouse Peated whisky, with the addition of apple and pomegranate juice, the "Cinnamon Wheaster" is born, a fresh drink served in a martini glass and garnished with a peel of orange which gives it that citrus taste typical of some Easter desserts, such as the Neapolitan pastiera. The softness of shaken liquid cream is the protagonist of the "Choco Bunny", a drink based on Autentico Nativo rum, hazelnut syrup and cocoa garnish that will conquer the palates of friends and relatives with its creaminess. To make this cocktail, Anthology experts recommend adopting the "double strain" technique, which consists in using two strainers simultaneously when pouring the mix from the shaker into the glass, in order to filter it optimally from impurities or ice in excess. This way you get a smoother and more harmonious cocktail. The harmony of edible flowers in powder is indicated as the garnish of the "Purple Spring" drink, in which the sourness of lemon juice and the sweetness of honey meet in a cocktail based on Iovem, the liqueur created by Bruno Vanzan and flavored with honey, ginger and lemon. Sip after sip, this drink will make all guests fall in love with its spring fragrance, enriched by the peated whiskey vaporized on the edge of the glass. The "Easter Egg" cocktail could not be missing, which "surprises" thanks to its essence: it presents itself as a transparent drink which appears to be as refreshing as a glass of water but which in truth hides a creamy soul. M&H New Make whisky, citric acid and speculoos syrup come together in a perfect mix to end Easter lunch with creativity. Finally the "Springtail", the spring cocktail: pineapple, strawberry, lime and grenadine blended together with Damoiseau Gold rum, the Damoiseau Shrubb liqueur (which has hints of candied orange, sultanas, honey and roots) and red bitters thanks to the technique “throwing”, which allows you to emulsify the drink by mixing less aggressively than the classic shaken and giving it greater oxygenation. 

How to avoid calorie attacks with Easter sweets

Blood sugar under control in just a few steps (Even at Easter). To prevent sweet Easter indulgences from turning into a "calorie attack" on our figure, it is advisable to follow some simple rules, as recommended by Private Nutritionist Ilenia Grieco: "A 100 gram slice of classic colomba provides approximately 350 calories and one creams can reach up to 500 calories. This is why, to avoid glycemic peaks that can weigh on the scale, it is preferable to indulge in the much-loved dessert at breakfast, for example in combination with Greek yogurt, or after lunch or dinner, taking care however to halve the portion of the first course and open the meal with an artichoke salad, which reduces the absorption of fat, to conclude with a second course of meat or fish”, he explains. And again: to avoid glycemic peaks it may be useful to start the day with a savory breakfast, hydrate properly and consume raw vegetables before main meals. “More than Easter, however, the critical moment is certainly in the following days,” she continues. And it recommends "increasing hydration up to approximately two liters of water and unsweetened herbal teas, avoiding fasting and a liquid diet, focusing instead on foods with a low glycemic index and anti-inflammatory such as blueberries, red fruits, cinnamon, raw vegetables, fish, legumes".

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