CHRISTMAS FLAVOURS AND MARKETS MADE IN CORSICA

When we visited Corsica we were welcomed by warm Corsican hospitality. We found that the island with its rich flavours, full-bodied wines, fine gastronomy, foraging, farming and fishing traditions has maintained many of its gastronomic traditions. Christmas cuisine for example plays an important role in Corsican life. We now understand why, the island holds no less than six Christmas markets. We really appreciated the quality of the dishes produced using to traditional recipes and local ingredients including,  sweet chestnuts, charcuterie, sea food and creamy cheeses. We are even going to try to make our own Corsican Chestnut Yule Log for Christmas dessert and brought the recipe below with us.

Christmas markets in Corsica start in November and run right up until 31 December. The December markets include Calvi (1-31 December), Ajaccio (3-24 December), Bastia (16-23 December) and Ile Rousse (16-20 December), so there’s still time to hop over for a few stocking stuffers or Christmas ingredients!

If you do spend some time on the island during the festive season and try the island’s traditional sweet chestnut flour, a natural product that can be found in numerous local dishes, such as the famous “polenta” often served at Christmas and New Year.

This time of the year also sees a wide selection of local charcuterie such as delicious prizuttu (cured ham) or figatellu sausage, which is perfect when grilled over the fire on a cold winter’s day. Produced from pigs grazing freely in oak and sweet chestnut forests, Corsican charcuterie is amongst the best in the world and best enjoyed with a glass of local wine such as the Cap Corse muscat or Patrimonio red wine.

We think that the island’s cheeses are just as delicious and during the winter the brocciu cheese -made from goat and ewe’s milk - is used in savoury recipes such as stuffed meat and vegetables and sweet dishes such as fiadone and ambrucciata (types of Corsican cheesecake).

No Christmas celebrations would be complete without abundant platters of Corsican oysters and sea urchins. Whereas Atlantic oysters take three years to reach a weight of 90g, the Corsican variety grows very quickly and can be eaten after only 12 or 14 months thanks to very specific types of planktons found in the island’s lagoons giving them a singular “nutty” flavour.  

To make a change from the traditional English Christmas Cake or pudding you can try the traditional Corsican Chestnut Yule log (please note we haven’t tried it yet either):

« Ceppu di Natale Castagninu »/ Chestnut Yule Log

Preparation time: 2 hours

Ingredients: 1kg chestnuts- 300g chocolate-100g butter-1 tablespoon sugar

Using a knife, make a cut at either end of the chestnuts and boil them for 3 minutes. Drain and remove the skin from the chestnuts. In a saucepan, incorporate the milk and the sugar, followed by the peeled chestnuts. Cook for 30min over a gentle heat.

Put the contents of the saucepan into a mixer and mix with the butter. Melt the chocolate in a saucepan over a gentle heat and add 2 tablespoons of water.

Pour the chestnut mix into the chocolate and carefully stir.  Pour the mixture onto a sheet of foil, fold in two and shape into a roll. To strengthen the foil sheet, surround it with a sheet of card.

Put everything in the fridge for 5 hours. Once the log has hardened sufficiently, remove the foil and put the log in a cool place for 1 hour prior to serving.  

For more information about traditional recipes to celebrate Christmas the Corsican way, visit: www.visit-corsica.com/en/Explore/Our-holiday-ideas-all-year/The-best-of-winter/What-Corsican-Christmas-recipes-will-you-choose