ALSO FOR VEGETERIANS

Like many typical sweets of this territory, Gubana represented in the party’s food. This typical specialty is loved in all the villages of the Valle del Natisone, but in Cividale del Friuli there are the first testimonies of the recipe dating back to 1409 when it was served in a banquet set up for Pope Gregory XII on a visit to the city. It is a sweet dough paste, stuffed with chopped nuts, pine nuts, raisins and lemon zest. A delight that owes its name to the term dew (“bend” in slovenia), referring to the characteristic spiral shape. You can accompany one of the many local doc and docg wines, from Picolit to Chardonnay, from Tocai to Sauvignon.

Ingredients

For the dough

220 g flour
60 g butter
50 g sugar
20 g honey
1 egg + 30 g egg yolk
40 g milk
10 g of brewer’s yeast
2 g salt

For the filling

140 g of walnut kernels
60 g sugar
60 g raisins
40 g macaroons
30 g dry cookies
30 g pine nuts
20 g butter
1/2 lemon
rum
plum brandy
salt
1 egg white for brushing

Method

The process of Gubana is quite complex, which is why, even today, it is made by skilled hands but, for the more daring, it can also be made at home. So hands on dough. Let’s get started.To prepare the dough will suffice: Arrange the flour in a heap and pour in the center the brewer’s yeast diluted in warm milk, sugar, egg and yolk, and a pinch of salt.
Knead the dough until it is soft. The dough should be left to rise for about 1 hour.
After an hour, add the rest of the flour, butter, sugar and knead the dough vigorously and let it rise for another 30 minutes.

Proceed with the preparation of the dough: Soak the raisins in rum and take a small saucepan.
Caramelize the sugar with a tablespoon of water and a drop of vinegar in the saucepan.
Add 50 g of walnuts to the mixture and mix quickly, continuing to stir for a few seconds.
Pour the mixture onto a shelf brushed with oil and let it cool.
Meanwhile, brown the pine nuts in butter over a very low flame, withdraw and let cool. Chop the macaroons and dry cookies, then chop the caramelized nuts and the remaining 90 grams of walnuts (ideally, use the chopper).
Gather everything together in a bowl.
Combine raisins, browned pine nuts with all their butter, grated lemon peel, salt, vanillin, cinnamon, the rest of the sugar and finely chopped candied citron.
Wet with the necessary liqueur and mix for a long time so that all the ingredients are well mixed.
The dough should be sufficiently moist at the end (add liquor if necessary).
Let the filling rest in a cool place for at least one whole day.

Continue with the assembly: Roll out the dough into a rectangle in the size of 20 x 30 cm.
Spread the filling on top with the addition of generous clumps of soft butter.
Proceed to roll: close the two ends tightly and stretch the roll until it is 70-80 cm long.
Take the right flap, lift it up and fold it inside, then all around gently wrap the remaining part of the roll except for the last flap that should be joined to the first one under the cake.

Everything is almost ready!All that remains is to lay the gubana in a buttered mold (20 cm in diameter), let it rise until it has doubled in volume, then brush its surface with lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle it with granulated sugar.
Proceed to baking in a 160° oven for about 1 hour.

Enjoy your meal!