Cappone con le Noci – A Traditional Christmas Recipe

Capon with Walnuts

Cappone con le Noci is a traditional Italian dish from northern Italy’s Piedmont region. The dish uses capon, a type of poultry that is castrated at a young age to produce tender, flavorful meat.

This is a specialty from Lombardy, prepared over the Christmas season. The broth is excellent and can be used to cook small ravioli to serve as a first course.

Ingredients

1 capon
1/2 cup cream
2 tbs. butter
20 walnuts, chopped
4 tbs. grated Parmigiano
3 egg yolks
4 tbs. cream
salt
pepper
nutmeg
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
4 slices white bread, crustless

Preparation

Clean and bone the capon and leave it in its natural shape. Soak the bread in the cream. Soften the butter and mix with walnuts, Parmigiano, egg yolks, and bread. Beat the mixture well with a wooden spoon until it is soft and thick, adding more bread or cream if necessary. Add salt, pepper and add a pinch of grated nutmeg. Fill the capon with the stuffing. Sew and tie the bird closed. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (the pot should be large enough to hold the bird), add celery and carrot, lower the heat and cook the stuffed capon in this broth over a low heat for 1 1/2-2 hours, adding salt halfway through. Serve the capon carved with some of the stuffing. This dish may be accompanied by preserved spiced fruit (mostarda di frutta).

Capon with Walnuts Cappone con le Noci is a traditional Italian dish from northern Italy’s Piedmont region. The dish uses capon, a type of poultry that is castrated at a young age to produce tender, flavorful meat. This is a specialty from Lombardy, prepared over the Christmas season. The broth…

Capon with Walnuts Cappone con le Noci is a traditional Italian dish from northern Italy’s Piedmont region. The dish uses capon, a type of poultry that is castrated at a young age to produce tender, flavorful meat. This is a specialty from Lombardy, prepared over the Christmas season. The broth…