Wherever you will go to, you will find something good for your stomach :-)
Very close to our winery there is a small town, Costeggiola, where was born a very typical dessert of the Carnival season, the Rufiolo di Costeggiola.
The origins of this traditional dish (late 1800) has to be found in the rural district of Costeggiola, where the economy was pretty bad and people had to do with what they had only, so at the time the Rufiolo was filled with left-overs, then boiled in broth. Only in the 20th century Rufioli di Costeggiola become a dessert and it was so typical that they decided to dedicate it a feast on the day of the patron saint Sant’Antonio Abate (Jan.17th).
If you do not know Rufiolo yet, it is a kind of sweet and fried ravioli , created giving the puff pastry the shape of a rising sun or, for those of you who hate romanticism, a chicken crest.
Wrapped in a thin layer of puff pastry there is a mix of pine nuts, candied cedro, almonds, amaretto biscuits and rum.

And now, let’s discover together how to make this deliciousness!

For the filling :

- 200 g di amaretto biscuits

- 100 g sugar

- 200 g candied cedro dices

- 100 g peeled almonds

- 100 g pine nuts

- 1/2 glass rum or sweet grappa

- 4 tbsp plum jam

For the puff pastry:

- 500 g flour “00”

- 4 eggs

- 4 tbsp sugar

- 80 g butter

- 1/2 glass of dry grappa

- 1/2 glass of milk

- a pinch of salt

- fryer oil

- icing sugar

According to the trdition, the filling should rest for at least 24hrs, but that’s not a must. So let’s start making it and we will let it rest until the puff pastry is ready.
In a bowl, mix the crumbled amaretto biscuits, the sugar, the candied cedro cubes, the pine nuts, the wum and the plum jam.
Put the flour on your working table and, in the middle create a hole where we will put the eggs with a pinch of salt. Now, mix it with a fork, add the sugar, the softened butter with the grappa and the milk. Mix it with the fork until we get a nice mixture, then start kneading with your hands until we have a smooth dough. Let it rest for about 15 mins and rolli t in a thin layer.
Cut the puff pastry in rectangles (let’s say 10cm) and fill it with a spoon of filling.
Now it’s time to give the Rufiolo its typical shape: bend the pastry creating a triangle and seal it using a pastry cutter.
Put a frying pot of the fire and when the oil is ready fry the Rufioli, until it browns. Use a perforated spoon in order to drain the oil and dry it with absorbing paper.
Now cover it with icing sugar and enjoy!

The perfect wine pairing? Recioto di Soave Docg of course.

Try out our recipe and share it with us!

Buon appetito,

VM