Parrozzo Abruzzese

The name of this cake derives from ‘pan rozzo’, a bread made by Abruzzese shepherds from ground corn, water and olive oil. In 1920, a baker called Luigi D’Amico, from the coastal town of Pescara, took this rather characterless example of cucina povera (or ‘the poor kitchen’), and elevated it by adding ground sweet almonds from Abruzzo’s abundant almond groves and coating it with chocolate. Its popularity spread beyond Pescara, and parrozzo is now one of the region’s iconic sweets. In fact,