Gubana

Gubana is a traditional sweet from the Natisone Valleys, on the border with Slovenia. It's a leavened sweet bread shaped like a snail shell, filled with walnuts, raisins, pine nuts, grappa, orange peel, chocolate, and crumbled amaretti cookies.

The name derives from the Slovenian word "guba" (fold), referring to its rolled shape. It's the dessert of great occasions in Friulian and Slovenian tradition, prepared especially at Easter and Christmas.

Every family in the Natisone Valleys guards its own secret recipe for the filling, which can contain up to 20 different ingredients. It is traditionally paired with a glass of Slivovitz (plum grappa).