- Panzarotti
Panzarotti or Panzerotti are filled pastries, different forms of which are popular in Italy and in the
United States , especially inSouth Jersey .In Italy
Panzerotti (always spelled with an "e") originate in central and southern Italy, especially in the
Marche andApulia . They are small versions of thecalzone , but are made with softer dough. The most common filling is tomato and mozzarella, but spinach, mushrooms and ham are also used.Agostino Luini brought panzerotti to the northern Italian city of
Milan in the late 1940s, setting up shop near that city's Gothic cathedral. Panificio F.lli Luini's proximity to the Duomo, the Galleria, and the via Dante pedestrian zone has made the panzerotto widely known among both Milanese and tourists. Luini has gone on to open a London café, since renamed "Sfizio".United States
In America the word has come to be spelled "panzarotti", and is regarded as singular (one panzarotti, two panzarottis).
It consists of a pocket of dough filled with varying amounts of melted mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, and any number of fillings, which is then wrapped, salted, and fried. The panzarotti rises during this process, creating a pocket containing a considerable amount of steam which should be partially released prior to eating for medical reasons.
The recipe comes from the Tarantini family, which has continually passed down the recipe from generation to generation. Pauline Tarantini, an immigrant mother of 10 who spoke very little English, learned to make panzarottis from her mother in her native
Brindisi ,Italy . Around1960 she began producing them by hand from her Camden, New Jersey home. Her husband Leopoldo then sold them at local businesses. The family has been fiercely protective of its claim to the panzarotti and is known for taking legal action against restaurants that copy or imitate the design of the panzarotti.Fact|date=February 2007 Because of this, panzarottis are generally found exclusively at places owned by the Tarantini family, including the Franco's restaurant in Haddonfield, though similar menu items branded "Pizza Tart", "Pizza Turnover" or "Pizza Brioche" are available throughout the South Jersey area.There are competing claims to the origin of the panzarotti. Franco's and Vincent's, in
Merchantville, NJ , both claim to be the original creator of the panzarotti.Fact|date=September 2007Mini panzarottis, or panzarottinis, also exist. These are usually sold in groups of five. In
November 2006 , Franco's introduced an intermediate-sized dish called the junior panzarotti.The New Jersey recipe has also been imported to the Midwest, where it is typically sold as an "Italian taco" or confused with a calzone. Fillings offered by an establishment typically coincide with their pizza toppings.
ee also
*
Calzone
*Stromboli
*Cornish pasty
*Sambusac
*Empanada External links
* [http://www.laterradipuglia.it/ing/panzerotti.htm Recipe from Italy]
* [http://www.luini.it/ Panificio F.lli Luini]
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