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 | And what, you wonder, is Berlingaccio? It's the Thursday before Carnevale (this year Tuesday March 8), and is an occasion Florentines celebrate with make cenci or schiacciata alla fiorentina. In other words, another excuse for merriment, and considering how cold and wet it was yesterday it did hit the spot. And here's another recipe from the latest issue of Cosa Bolle in Pentola:
Castagnole
The word castagna means chestnut, and these fritters do vaguely resemble a chestnut in size and shape. Since they're fairly firm, they can be made in advance if need be. - The grated zest (yellow part only) of an organically grown lemon
- 4 1/5 cup (500 g) all purpose flour, sifted
- 4 eggs and 4 yolks, beaten
- 1 1/8 cups (225 g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2/5 cup milk
- 4 tablespoons Marsala or dry Sherry
- A pinch of salt
- Flour for dusting
- Powdered sugar
- Oil for frying
Whir the sugar and the lemon zest in a blender.
Make a mound of the flour on your work surface and scoop a well into it. Add the sugar, baking powder, and salt, and then use a fork to stir in the eggs, melted butter, milk and Marsala. Work the resulting dough with your hands until it is firm and elastic.
Divide the dough into 6-8 pieces and roll each out into a 3/4 inch (2 cm) diameter snake, cut the snakes into 3/4-inch pieces, roll them between your palms to round them, and set them on a floured surface.
When you are close to finished, set your oil to heating. Fry the castagnole until they are a pretty golden brown, drain them well on absorbent paper, dust them with powdered sugar, and enjoy. | |
Schiacciata alla Fiorentina
The more traditional recipes for this classic orangy Florentine Easter cake call for lard and require that one make a starter loaf with the yeast. This recipe, pried by my mother-in-law from Il Rossino, a pastry chef in Florence's Via Centostelle, does not, and is good enough to be eaten year round. It's tasty as is, and wonderful filled with whipped cream, crema pasticcera, or or chantilly.
| Pellegrino Artusi's Berlingaccio Menu
Though Artusi was Romagnolo, he lived in Florence for close to 60 years, and does suggest a berlingaccio menu that owuld break most modern diners:
Minestra asciutta, i.e. pasta: Pappardelle con la lepre, with hare sauce (the sauce here is similar -- substitute pasta for polenta -- though hare will require marinating), or Maccheroni alla bolognese
Crostini di tartufi, truffle crostini made by gently sauteeing layers of truffles and Parmigiano in a skillet, and laying the mixture over lightly buttered toasted bread.
Stew: Budino alla genovese, a veal paté
Between courses: Zampone (stuffed pig's trotter) or Salame dal sugo di Ferrara (a very rich gourd-shaped salami from Ferrara, which is slowly simmered and then eaten warm), with Sauer-kraut
The Roast: Capon (this recipe will be nice, though you will have to adjust the time), with salad, or Truffled Capon (with a half pound -- 250 g -- of truffles!)
Desserts: Dolce Torino (similar to but drier than tiramisu) and Orange Ice Cream
| Another Carnival Treat: Cannoli!
People now enjoy cannoli year-round. In the past, however, they were "Carnival's Crown," according to Giuseppe Pitrè (the doctor and ethnographer who founded Palermo's museum of folk culture in 1909), and come Carnevale Palermitani gave cannoli to all their friends -- by the dozen. One can only imagine the people in the pastry shops churning them out and the sweet sugary smell of the ricotta filling wafting over the city!
| Some Sad News
I mentioned the weather in the introduction, and note with relief that today is sunny, at least in Tuscany. The past week has been difficult, especially along the Adriatic, where there were 120-mph winds in Trieste, snow in Romagna, and widespread flooding in the Marche (with several people washed away) and on down to Puglia, while the mountains were socked with snow. If you have friends or relatives in the areas hit, you may want to contact them.
See here for the situation in Emilia Romagna and the north
And here for the situation in the south.
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