Requiem for panforte
And – boom! – just like that it is almost a couple of weeks to Christmas. A slight tightening of the stomach and a thin veil of sweat on the brow is the response from many. The festive season is almost here and with it all the pressure of shopping for the perfect Christmas gift.
If I may backtrack a little. This year I moved house and, as many people would agree, packing makes us realise we have way too much stuff in our lives. Some of it is necessary, some of it is needless accumulation, and some of it is unwanted and unasked-for Christmas presents.
Christmas is a time when many of us feel compelled to give people gifts and, as the year starts to collapse in on itself, the urgency builds. Where to go shopping? What to buy? Will they like it? Can I afford it?
My advice? Forgo those sterile shopping centres with their overcrowded subterranean parking bunkers, avoid the packed high streets, and do a little shopping at your local fruit and nut shop. Then, head home to your kitchen, crank up Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and get baking.
Panforte is simple to make. While it has a long list of ingredients, they can all be mixed by hand in a big bowl. And the best bit? You can make it a few weeks in advance, wrap it in cellophane, and skip the throngs at the shopping centres altogether.
Next week, another sweet treat for under the
• Christmas tree: nougat of Montélimar.