Manduria, a city in Puglia rich in history and culture in the province of Taranto, is known not only for its fine wine and its Messapian roots, but also for a unique dessert: the dove. This soft and crumbly Trick It is part of the local tradition, handed down from generation to generation without, however, official documentation confirming its origins.
Today, Manduria and its surroundings remain the heart of the production of colombino, a dessert protected by the Slow Food Presidium. This garrison protects local pastry chefs who continue to prepare it according to the traditional recipe, using only high-quality, zero-mile ingredients, such as almonds, oranges, milk, butter, eggs, flour and apricot jam. Thanks to this commitment, Colombino maintains its connection with the territory and its authenticity intact.
A failure, a discovery: this is how the Manduria colombino was born
Legend has it that it all began in 1953, when a pastry chef named Matteo Miola, a regular traveler between Taranto and Lecce for work, stopped in Manduria due to a breakdown of his vehicle. During the unexpected stop, Miola discovered that the Candeloro Theater Buffet, a historic venue, was looking for a new manager. Fascinated by the city, he decided to stop and settle there, starting a new business that would soon become part of the local confectionery tradition.
Initially, the colombino was prepared on the occasion of the Patronal feast of San Gregorio Magno, celebrated on September 3, when the squares were lit up with lights and the tables were enriched with special sweets. The goodness of the colombino, however, immediately won over the inhabitants, making it too beloved to be relegated to a single date. Today is the dessert of Mandurian Sundays and anniversaries, a weekly ritual often accompanied by a glass of Primitivo di Manduria Sweet Natural, a local wine that enhances its flavour with its sweet and intense notes.
The recipe for colombino: a refined dessert
With an elegant appearance and a truncated conical shape, the colombino is composed of two layers of puff pastry which contain a Orange almond paste filling e custard, giving a soft consistency and a unique taste. The surface is covered with a meringue glaze, prepared with sugar, egg white and lemon, and decorated with a small dove-shaped motif made in Apricot jam, from which the dessert takes its name.
Available all year round in local pastry shops, the colombino is carefully crafted by only a few pastry chefs, the same ones who guard the original recipe and pass it down with passion. Despite the passing of the years and the evolution of modern pastry making, this dessert remains faithful to its origins, maintaining its value as an authentic symbol of Manduria and its gastronomic heritage.
