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All through December big hatbox-shaped loaves of Italy’s classic Panettone make appearances on Italian tables everywhere. The sweet yeasted bread, packed with dried fruits, chocolates, chestnuts, or other sweet treats – even cream – is a classic Christmas tradition. Guests often arrive with one, and Bart and I buy them by the dozen to give as Christmas gifts. Last week I was looking at the array on the internet when I came across Struc\u00e0<\/em>, a variant of Panettone made with extra virgin olive oil. No butter. No dairy. No problem. This is not your nonna’s Panettone. I had to buy one. See, the deal with me is I am like a woman in a jewelry store, or the proverbial kid in a candy store. When I am in a food hall, I just can’t leave empty-handed.<\/p>\n The Struc\u00e0 arrived swaddled in heavy white paper printed with olives. It was tied up in a green and gold ribbon emblazoned with the initial F<\/em> for the bakers of the Pasticceria Filippi<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Inside was a 9X4 rectangular loaf in a paper baker. The moment I opened the plastic inner wrapper I smelled the bread, rich with the scent of olive oil and redolent of sweet honey, orange essence, and Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans. Seduction by food. Again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The rich, cake-like bread is made with the family’s forty-year-old starter and enriched with free-range eggs. Its rich golden interior is studded with chunks of succulent candied Calabrian orange peel. The peel has no bitter or sharp notes, a result of a weeks long manufacturing process that involves drying in open-air vats. The texture of this cake-like bread is light, yet rich, and wonderfully moist, not the least bit dry, with an even crumb, just as I’d expect from an olive oil cake. About the olive oil – it’s a blend of various olives grown in southeastern Sicily’s Iblei Mountains, right where some of my very favorite oils come from. Little wonder this is so good.<\/p>\n Pasticciera Filippi uses acacia honey to sweeten the Struc\u00e0. This light, clear honey has a particularly mild and delicate taste and remarkable sweetening power. It is known for producing pleasingly soft baked goods, and it certainly does the job here, yielding a soft bread with whose fruity and floral notes marry perfectly with the candied orange zest.<\/p>\n The beautifully browned top is sprinkled with crunchy pearl sugar and generously dotted with sweet, fragrant almonds. The combination of natural yeast starter, extra virgin olive oil, and honey impart remarkable keeping quality to the Struc\u00e0.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Struc\u00e0 is great plain, but to really bring it to life and bring focus to the olive oil, warm the bread for a few minutes in a 350 degree F. oven. Enjoy it with Prosecco, Amaretto, coffee, or tea. For a luscious snack, toast a thick piece and top it with a knob of soft Vermont cultured butter. The bread’s structure makes it perfect for soaking, and that means French Toast and bread puddings. For any lover of Panettone or extra virgin olive oil, this will make a most welcome Christmas gift.<\/p>\n Filippi Struc\u00e0<\/em> is available from Market Hall Foods<\/a>, $24.00 per loaf plus shipping.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nToday, Monday, December 1, 2014 Market Hall Foods<\/a> is offering 20% off orders of $75 or more with code EAT14<\/del><\/p>\n