Putizza

Putizza is a snail-shaped dessert typical of Trieste filled with a riot of dried fruit, spices and chocolate.

When it comes to typical Easter desserts you are spoiled for choice. In addition to the most well-known, such as the colomba or the pastiera, there are others that are excellent and perfect if you are in the mood to experiment. Among these is the Trieste putizza, a rolled snail-shaped dessert filled with dried and dehydrated fruit and expertly flavored with citrus peel and cinnamon.

It owes its name to the Slovenian term potica (pronounced potiza ) which means rolled and appears to have been prepared for the first time in 1864 by Archdukes Maximilian I of Mexico and Charlotte of Belgium. Today this dessert is very widespread not only in the Trieste area but also throughout the Karst as well as in nearby Slovenia.

How to prepare the putizza recipe

1. First prepare the yeast . Dissolve the yeast in warm water (or milk) together with approximately 20 g of sugar and 100 g of flour taken from the total. Mix well and let rest for 15 minutes.
2. Then add, mixing with a wooden spoon or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the hook, one egg at a time (a total of 2 eggs and 1 yolk), 60 g of sugar, the flour and 80 g of soft butter. Flavor with grated lemon zest and knead until you obtain a dough.
3. Leave it to rise in the oven with the light turned off until it has doubled in volume.
4. In the meantime, soak the raisins in warm water. Chop the dried fruit with a knife.
5. Melt the dark chocolate together with the grappa and set aside for the moment.
6. Melt the remaining butter for the filling and add the breadcrumbs, lightly toasting them in a pan.
7. Now all that remains is to combine all the ingredients of the filling : well squeezed raisins, chopped dried fruit, melted chocolate, breadcrumbs with butter, remaining sugar, grated zest of the second lemon, honey and cinnamon.
8. Roll out the leavened dough until you obtain a rectangle 1 cm thick and spread the filling obtained over the entire surface. Roll up around the long side and close to form a spiral. Let it rise for an hour, always in the oven with the light on.
9. Then brush with an egg and cook at 180°C for 30 minutes . Let it cool before serving.

Among the other typical desserts of the area we recommend you try gubana , similar in preparation but less rich in filling.

storage

The putizza will keep for up to a week closed in a plastic bag.