Sal De Riso is also the creator of award-winning traditional and unique panettone varieties, despite being nowhere near its birthplace of Milan.
From the Amalfi Coast with love (and citrus and hazelnut)
His headquarters is in Minori, a small town on the world-famous Amalfi Coast. In fact, citrus fruit is ever-present in his desserts, as are other wonderful products from his homeland, such as Giffoni hazelnuts or buffalo dairy products from the Sele plain, including the butter frequently used in his dough. His sweets can be found in several stores throughout Italy – two in Rome alone – but his heart is always in Minori, where he recently opened his beautiful new pastry shop, with an adjoining restaurant-pizzeria and a retail outlet for De Riso-branded products, where you can even stop for a relaxing break. Assuming you can even find a spot to sit.
Struffoli and panettone are Christmas classics, but what about struffoli on top of panettone?
In Naples and throughout the Campania region, struffoli are an absolute must around the holiday season. They’re a kind of fried dumpling made of eggs and flour and kept together by a generous amount of honey. Afterwards, they’re topped with colored nonpareil sprinkles, making them cheerful and pleasing to the eye. It’s precisely because of their joyful appeal that they’re also perfect to use as a decoration on other sweets. So Sal De Riso decided to put them on top of one of his magnificent panettones made with wholemeal flour and grains; he christened it “Millefiori,” because of the wildflower honey in both the struffoli and the cream that fills the panettone itself.
Sal De Riso’s struffoli recipe
Struffoli ingredients
4 whole eggs, 3.5 tbsp. softened butter, 1/4 cup white wine, 1/4 cup fructose, a pinch of salt, 4 cups sifted flour, citrus zest to taste (lemon, orange, and tangerine), extra-virgin olive oil for frying
For the topping and decoration
1.5 cups wildflower honey, colored nonpareil sprinkles, candied fruit such as clementines, oranges and red cherries
Sift the flour and form it into a well. In the center, add the white wine, fructose, softened butter, the beaten eggs, salt, and grated citrus zest. Start kneading from the center. First ensure all of the soft and liquid ingredients are incorporated, and then slowly mix in all of the flour. Once the dough is smooth and silky, wrap it in a sheet of food-grade nylon. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for about an hour. On a work surface, roll out the dough into thin ropes and arrange them next to each other. Sprinkle them with plenty of flour, then use a knife to cut them into small dumplings.
Sift the dumplings to remove any excess flour and fry them in very hot extra-virgin olive oil.
Once the struffoli are golden, remove them from the oil and dry them on paper towels so any excess oil is absorbed. Place the fried struffoli in a large container with plenty of wildflower honey and the cubed candied orange, then mix with a wooden spoon.
Top with the nonpareil sprinkles and small pieces of candied clementines, cherries, and orange, using these to also decorate the edge of the serving dish.