Carluccio's Gift Shop

Carluccio's is synonymous of great quality food, all ingredients sourced from small farms and companies quite often run by families going back few generations. Every year Carluccio's brings to UK the best Italian food and the most traditional Italian cakes and wines.  Among the huge selection I've made my pick. For sure a foodie will love anything with the Carluccio's logo emblazoned on the front of the gift bag.

This is the " Il Massimo" the luxury hamper by Carluccio's full of delicious goods from all  over Italy. A bottle of Prosecco perfect to accompain the Panettone Milano then a Porcini Mushroom sauce and a Wild Boar Ragu, both perfect for the most indulgent filled pasta, and a Balsamic Vinegar from Modena as well as Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Umbria for the best salad dressing ending with Chocolate Coated Clementines and Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Stars. A feast for the eyes and for the stomachs.

This Salt Pig with Sicilian Sea Salt is a great gift. Rock salt is perfect for cooking pasta adding it a handful to the boiling water. With its design it is very useful next to the hob for easy access as well as being a lovely addition to the kitchen. The glazed terracotta makes it easy to clean it.

Panforte is the typical Christmas cake from Siena in Tuscany and the recipe is a very old one dating back to the medieval times. It is made with toasted almonds, candied fruits, honey, spices and it is great served with Vin Santo ( a very sweet Italian wine) or with coffee. Bringing this Panforte  when invited to a Christmas party or just to exchange gifts will be very appreciated. Obviously every Panforte recipe is different and the Carluccio's one has been sourced for its uniqueness.

This gift box will make happy any food lover, especially who likes pasta cooked with the best ingredients. In this box there are four  packets of flavoured pasta and four jars of sauces that best match the pasta in the box. The selection is delicious with wild boar ragu, mushroom sauce, vongole sauce and rustic sauce. Among the pasta there is a packet of  squid ink spaghetti to match the vongole sauce like in a Inspector Montalbano episode. Yummy.

Vin Santo and Cantucci (literally Holy Wine and Little Corners) are two of the most traditional dessert from Tuscany especially during Christmas time. Carluccio's has brought to UK this very sweet wine which is served in  glasses where the Cantuccio can be dipped in and then eaten with gusto, imbued with Vin Santo. For once it is allowed to dip biscuits in a glass of wine. The recipe for these Cantucci is hundred years old and the wine is matured in barrels for five years.

Panettone is now very popular in UK but Carluccio's has brought to these shores a panettone with a twist. The producers where Carluccio's goes for wines makes a custard with locally produced Prosecco and then this heavenly filling is piped into the Panettone so the final result is a fragrant, buttery and creamy cakes with a hint of Prosecco.

Gianduiotti are a typical hazelnut chocolate truffles from Piemonte. Their trapezoidal shape and usually metallic wrap make them look like gold ingots.And like gold ingots they are precious. Probably one of the finest truffles made with hazelnut and chocolate. This box contains a selection in five different flavours, milk, dark, pistachio white chocolate, coffee, and chilli. simply the best.

From Calabria, these Chocolate Coated Walnut stuffed Figs are something to die for. The figs are cut in half stuffed with a walnut and candied orange peel and then pressed, baked and coat in chocolate. The basket that makes the packaging  is handwoven by one of the last basket makers in Italy. All in all it is a delicious gift with a little piece of craftsmanship to be taken at home.
For more ideas and to check where the nearest Carluccio's stores are as well as shopping online go to www.carluccios.com