Cosenza and Sila, Calabria
One of the most extraordinary Christmas pastries in Italy: a coiled, rose-shaped pastry from the Sila and Cosenza areas of Calabria, filled with chopped figs, raisins, honey, walnuts, pine nuts, cinnamon, cloves, and candied citron. The pastry dough is enriched with lard, white wine, and olive oil. The filling is mounded in the centre of a pastry square, the corners folded in and sealed, then the whole is coiled into a rose shape before baking. The name means 'enwrapped' — the filling is imprisoned in the pastry.
Short pastry with a honeyed fig-and-nut filling perfumed with cinnamon and cloves — coiled into a rose and glazed with honey, it is the Calabrian Christmas in edible form
{"Dough: 00 flour, lard, olive oil, white wine, salt — the fat combination creates a short but workable pastry","Filling cooked briefly in honey before use — the dried fruit softens and the honey binds everything","Square pastry sheet filled in the centre, corners folded and sealed, then coiled tightly from one end","The coil must be tight — loose coiling causes the rose to unfurl during baking","Bake at 170°C for 25 min; brush with heated honey while still hot for a glossy finish"}
{"Toasted, roughly chopped almonds can replace pine nuts for a more rustic, affordable version","The pitta improves after 3 days as the filling moisture migrates into the pastry","Stored in a tin at room temperature, they keep 2–3 weeks — made weeks before Christmas"}
{"Uncooked filling used directly — the raisins and dried figs remain too firm inside the pastry","Coiling too loosely — the rose opens during baking and loses its shape","Skipping the honey glaze — it seals and preserves the pastry for the traditional 2-week keeping period"}
Dolci di Calabria — Giuseppina Malvicino