Cakes, Biscuits & Desserts Mimina’s Christmas Pastries – Ceci Ripieni by 8.6K Mimina’s tasty Christmas pastries ceci ripieni are a little different to those we eat up in the province of Teramo and called caggionetti. They team chickpeas, almonds and dark chocolate and coat them in the town of Prezza’s famous mosto cotto, encasing them in a soft egg based fried pastry that easily fools you into having six with an espresso! The vermouth used in the pastry adds contrast to the sweet middle, which even though you only add a couple of tablespoons of mosto cotto into comes through and helps cut down on the sugar required. I’ll never understand why mosto cotto isn’t more readily available outside Italy, it’s the closest you can get to having sweet summer in a syrup; no wonder it was adored by the Romans who used it in everything. Try using Port as a substitute in this recipe if you cannot find it locally. I met Mimina, the recipe author, on a week’s Italian cooking holiday in Prezza, nicknamed the balcony of Abruzzo. This small quaint town nuzzled between Pratola Peligna and Sulmona has been described by Vanity Fair as the place to stay in Abruzzo. I do think it is one of its friendliest which is not an easy accolade to achieve. She is the local butcher’s wife, and cousin of the chef that runs this Abruzzo food tour. It’s worth visiting Prezza just to sample their home-made salami and guanciale which were some of the best I have tried in Abruzzo. They’re easy to find, they sit at the top-right of the piazza, just look for the tumble of geraniums. After sharing her secret Christmas stuffing recipe, she taught us all how to make amazing sausages, a simple porchetta recipe and the recipe for these ‘ceci ripeni’ which I was intrigued by, having only experienced the chestnut caggionetti pastries previously. If you get to Prezza and like mosto cotto take a detour down the road to the nearby cherry town of Raiano and visit Bar Aterno for a mosto cotto ice-cream using Prezza’s Praesidium mosto cotto. Its incredible ice-creams are all organic and it’s listed in Italy’s Top 100 artisan ice cream makers. Ceci Ripeni Mimina Zaccardelli Almonds, chickpeas, dark chocolate & mosto cotto tucked into a soft fried pastry courtesy of Mimina who runs the butcher shop in Prezza, balcony of Abruzzo Print Recipe Pin Recipe Prep Time 30 minutes minsCook Time 2 minutes mins Course DessertsCuisine Italian Servings 30 Ingredients 1x2x3x250 g 00 Flour50 g Olive Oil50 g White Vermouth1.5 Eggs Beaten1/2 Lemon Zest120 g Boiled Chickpeas80 g Blanched Almonds40 g Dark Chocolate75 g Sugar1 tsp Cinammon2 tbsp Mosto Cotto Instructions Blend the dough ingredients in a food processor and then knead for 10 minutes. Leave to rest in the fridge for half an hour.In the food processor add all the filling ingredients and blend until a fine paste.Roll out the dough through a pasta machine and cut into circles using a cookie cutter.Spread the dough with a small amount of the dough and close it with a fork ( half moon shape).Fry the ceci ripieni in boiling vegetable oil until golden Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was! Author: Sam Dunham Sam is a very lucky midlife Mum to A who is 13 and juggles working as a freelance SEO copywriter with teaching IGCSEs at Istituto Cristo Re in Rome. She is the founder of the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, co-founder of Let's Blog Abruzzo and the 'English in the Woods' initiative. Protecting Abruzzo’s Charm,Empowering Generations to Come:Grow Life in Abruzzo! Support our not-for-profit cultural association: Donate now FREE NEWSLETTER Leave this field empty if you're human: Sam is a very lucky midlife Mum to A who is 13 and juggles working as a freelance SEO copywriter with teaching IGCSEs at Istituto Cristo Re in Rome. She is the founder of the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, co-founder of Let's Blog Abruzzo and the 'English in the Woods' initiative. previous post Danilo Cortellini’s Ascolana Olives & Fritto Misto next post Abruzzo’s Magical Eco B&B Scacciapensieri Related Articles Uccelletti -The Sweet History of San’Antonio’s Birds Lo Sdijuno – Abruzzo’s Healthy Eating Fasting Diet Winter Farinata 1 1 vote Article Rating Subscribe Login Notify of new follow-up comments new replies to my comments Label {} [+] Recipe Rating Recipe Rating Name* Email* Website Δ Label {} [+] Recipe Rating Recipe Rating Name* Email* Website Δ 7 Comments Oldest Newest Most Voted Inline Feedbacks View all comments Italian Cooking Holiday 18 December 2016 12:14 I’ll let Mimina know that you liked her recipe! Frank Simone 19 December 2016 01:52 My grandmother made them but her twist in the recipe was using chopped dates in the filling. She used the mosta cotta that wasn’t used for vino cotta. She was true Abruzzese. Life in Abruzzo 19 December 2016 09:13 Reply to Frank Simone Dates, wow I’m going to give that a go next time I make them, another way to cut down on the sugar! Sandra Brawley 19 December 2016 02:06 The ones I have eaten (and once made) had chestnuts in them. Life in Abruzzo 19 December 2016 09:16 Reply to Sandra Brawley Yes those I have eaten previously and in our village have been chestnut based… this is our neighbour Italia’s recipe, I like her addition of candied orange peel in the filling too https://www.lifeinabruzzo.com/caggionetti-calgionetti-caggiunitt-christmas-time/ Nancy Corsetti 13 January 2017 00:32 My husband’s mother made these at Christmas. In her recipe, white wine is used in the dough and the chickpeas are not boiled. She also added honey and orange zest to the filling. My sister-in-law taught my daughter how to make “Fritti did Ceci” because my mother never made these, even though she was from Abruzzo. Author Sam Dunham 2 February 2017 14:49 Reply to Nancy Corsetti The dough sounds like the one in our caggionetti but they use chesnuts instead of chickpeas