How to recycle Panettone after Christmas

Panettone, the Italian typical Christmas dessert, has been recycled in many ways after the Christmas period.

Some popular versions are cakes, covered by butter scotch cream and vanilla, dipped in chocolate or amaretto. Lately, a gourmet recipe by the English Chef Nigella Lawson sees Panettone dipped in Marsala (a well-liked Italian liqueur) and then covered by Mascarpone (cream cheese) in a pudding style, covered with pomegranate and marron glacé.

Besides any fancy recipe, Italian Chefs have proposed something more simple and linked to their territory. For instance, Davide Oldani,master chef of the restaurant D'O in Cornaredo (Milan), has created the "D'O Milanese Panettone with saffron and rice". Even if it might sound a bit weird to have rice on a Panettone, the taste is amazing. Rice is cooked in salted water, seasoned with Grana cheese orange zest and the result is a creamy but crunchy desert.

Max Mariola, Chef at the Boscolo Palace in Rome, has implemented a new Panettone recipe. In particular, it is the "zuccotto semifreddo". It is enough to have the right container and to put Panettone slices, previously dipped into Alchermes (an Italian liqueur) and to fill it with custard, chocolate pieces and Torrone. It should be served after a couple of hours in the fridge.

The maître pâtissierSal de Riso, famous also in TV, has suggested a fresh version of Panettone with Limoncello (the Italian lemon liqueur) cream and Amalfi lemon zests. Another evergreen Panettone version is Sal de Riso's stuffed Panettone with berries and rosemary cream. If you get tired of the usual Panettone shape, it is possible to convert it into a "tronchetto", having a rectangular shape.

Finally, the pastry chef Iginio Massari, from Pasticceria Veneto (Brescia), is considered the King of Panettone. He is happy to serve Panettone just as it is and he regrets the fact that people eat it only at Christmas time.

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