Panzerotti
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Panzarotti or Panzerotti are a type of Italian dish popularized in the United States, especially in South Jersey. It consists of a pocket of dough filled with a generous portion of melted mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, and any number of fillings, which is then wrapped, shut, and deep-fried. The panzarotti rises during this process, creating a pocket containing a considerable amount of steam which needs to be partially dissipated before one can eat the panzarotti. Baked panzarottis also exist, although they are considerably less popular and are more like stromboli than anything else.
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In Italy
Panzerotti (always spelled with an "e") originate in southern Italy, especially in the Marche and Apulia, and may be either baked or shallow or deep fried. They are small versions of the calzone, but are made with softer dough. The most common filling is tomato and mozzarella, but spinach, mushrooms and ham are also used. There is an abundance of recipes on the Internet, of which one is given in "External Links" below.
Agostino Luini brought panzerotti to the northern Italian city of Milan in the late 1940s, setting up shop near that city's Gothic cathedral. Panificio F.lli Luini's proximity to the Duomo, the Galleria, and the via Dante pedestrian zone has made the panzerotto widely known among both Milanese and tourists. Luini has gone on to open a London café, since renamed "Sfizio".
United States
In America the word has come to be spelled "panzarotti", and is regarded as singular (one panzarotti, two panzarottis).
The recipe comes from the Tarantini family, which has continually passed down the recipe from generation to generation. Pauline Tarantini, an immigrant mother of 10 who spoke very little English, learned to make panzarottis from her mother in her native Brindisi, Italy. Around 1960 she began producting them by hand from her Camden, New Jersey home. Her husband Leopoldo then sold them at local businesses. The family has been fiercely protective of its claim to the panzarotti and is known for taking legal action against restaurants that copy or imitate the design of the panzarotti.[citation needed] On account of this, panzarottis are generally found exclusively at places owned by the Tarantini family, including the Franco's restaurant in Haddonfield.
There are competing claims to the origin of the panzarotti. Franco's and Vincent's, in Merchantville, NJ, both claim to be the original creator of the panzarotti.[citation needed]
Mini panzarottis, or panzarottinis, also exist. These are usually sold in groups of five. In November 2006, Franco's introduced an intermediate-sized dish called the junior panzarotti.