MACARONI WITH WALNUT, BREADCRUMB, AND ORANGE PEEL; “MARRIED MACARONI’S”

These are two first courses that are served during the Feast of San Giuseppe, the 19th of March. To begin with, we need some stale bread, homemade if possible, and 7 days old is perfect. Grate the softest part, mince the walnuts and the orange peel, and fry them all together in olive oil that is lightly seasoned with a pinch of salt and a bit of vincotto. Quickly stir until the mixture takes on a darkish color, after which you will pour it onto a cutting board to cool. Cook the spaghetti (if possible n.5), that you will season with the n’ drit that you just prepared. To prepare the maccherune maritate, however, pour 1kg of hard-grain flour on the cooking mat, add a pinch of salt and gradually work in 4 eggs, a little lukewarm water, and mix it thoroughly. When the pasta is soft but not compact, stretch it with a rolling pin. Cut the sheet of pasta dough lengthwise into rather thick strips, which you will boil in moderately salted water that has 2-3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil added.

CEBOTT CA K`COC'E FRESK

The cebott owes its name to its tasty sauce and to its high nutritional value. Approximate the size of the dish according to the appetite and the liking of your guests; choose the appropriate amount of fresh zucchinis. Clean them, remove the skin, and if they are big, seed them; otherwise they will be spongy and not very tasty. Slice the zucchini into discs and chop some white onion. Fry the zucchini and onion in a pan with extra-virgin olive oil, and add a pinch of salt. Take your fresh tomatoes and wash them and cut them into big pieces. When the zucchini/onion mixture is well browned add the tomatoes and leave on low heat until the tomatoes are completely cooked. If you don’t have cholesterol problems, once the sauce is entirely cooked, you will be able to further enrich the cebott by adding some beaten eggs to the sauce. From the heat he eggs will scramble themselves and once mixed into the zucchini mixture they will flavor the entire dish.

SCIADUNE

Sciadune’s are a typical Easter food eaten in Morrone. To begin, prepare some pasta dough with 1 kg of soft-grain flour, 6 eggs, some lukewarm water, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Mix the ingredients and stretch the dough very thin with a rolling pin, then cut circles out of the dough using a large glass as a cutter. Separately, prepare the stuffing by mixing 1 kg of mixed grated cheeses (vaccino and caprino), chopped parsley, and by gradually adding eggs until the mixture is creamy but still compact. On half of the dough circles pour a heaping pile of the filling and place another circle (without stuffing) on top. Continue to seal the circles by delicately pinching shut their edges. Pierce each with a fork so that the heat can escape and brush with egg yolk. Put in the oven at 180 C for 30 minutes, or until the sciadune’s appear golden. If you don’t like pungent cheeses, the vaccino and caprino can be substituted with fresh ricotta. Avoid putting salt in the dough this time and use egg yolk only for the filling. Also add 100 gr. of sugar.

CITILLO

The citillo is a type of wild bittersweet carrot that is very rare today and grows only in certain humid zones of the countryside. Beneath its celery-like stem, the citillo is white and as soon as it is extracted from the ground it releases an appealing scent. One must clean citolli with much care: carefully remove the leaves and extraneous smaller roots and then slice the carrot in half extracting the hard core; then lightly grate the exterior of the carrot, rinse it well and leave it to soak in water for a while so that it lightens. After the citillo has soaked for a while clean all of the carrot and boil it in salted water. Separately, in a bowl beat for 20 minutes some flour, water and salt. When the batter sticks together, strain the carrots and then fry them in hot oil. When they are well browned, strain and allow them to cool in a basket so that the excess oil drips off. Then lie them down with some bay leaves in a non-stick pan. Meanwhile bring to a boil some vincotto, balsamic vinegar and honey; then cover the carrots with the mixture and set them aside for around a day or until they are completely softened. It is only at this point, when everything is soft, that the citillo is ready to be eaten.

TORRONCINI

Torroncino are very tasty biscuits that go well with tea or can be eaten alone as a breakfast food. They are a part of the scamnesk della gunatiera nuziale, a vase of sweets that the parents of the newlyweds give as gifts to friends and neighbors. For their preparation you will need a jar of sour black cherry marmalade (homemade if possible) and a few handfuls of toasted almonds. Pour 1.2 kg of flour on the cooking mat and in the center add 250 gr. of sugar, 6 egg yolks, 4 egg whites, 2 little ladles of lard, and one tablespoon of water. Mix all of that vigorously until you have a firm but soft mixture, similar to the density of gnocchi. Separately, finely chop the toasted almonds. Take a tablespoon of the flour mixture and lightly press it onto the almonds forming a disc onto which you will then put a tiny spoonful of marmalade. Then close the disc, rolling it on the almonds until that it takes the shape of a little cigar; making sure, however, not to squeeze out the marmalade. When all of the torroncini are well covered in almonds, heat the oven to 200 C, place them on a pan and put in oven. The biscuits are ready when they are brownish-golden.

BISCOTTI E'RRINT CA'SCAMNESK

Prepare the dough with 1 kg of flour, 8 whole eggs, 130 gr. sugar dissolved in 80 gr. of water, ½ a liter of extra-virgin olive oil, 160 gr. of lard, and 1 tablespoon of pure alcohol. Mix and knead the ingredients and stretch the dough with the rolling pin. At this point prepare the scamnesk: in a casserole pan put 1 liter of cooking wine(***vincotto), the finely grated skin of 1 orange, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 envelope of vanilla and if you like, a little square of baker’s chocolate, 1 espresso size cup of coffee and some chopped toasted almonds. On low heat, stirring every now and then, bring the mixture to a boil. Once it is boiling add plain breadcrumbs to thicken the mixture’s consistency. Do not, however, make the mixture very hard. Out of the dough make long rectangles and place on each one a bit of the filling. Then fold and seal the pasta, making them into tube like shapes and make them ring-like by connecting the ends together. Heat the oven to 200 C and cook the biscotti. The biscotti are ready when they are golden colored.

(Vincotto***) is a sweet wine made from grape pressings. The pressings are slowly boiled, reduced to 1/5 their initial volume, and then stored and aged in oak barrels for four years. The process involves no preservatives or additives.
 

CAVETJELL

On a baker’s mat mix flour and warm water. If wanted, you can add an egg. Knead until consistent. Cover with cloth and let stand for 30 minutes. Roll flour to ½ centimeter in thickness and cut into large bands, 1 - 1 ½ centimeters wide. Cut each band into 3 centimeter long piece. Holding your index and middle fingers together, drag them on top of each piece so that the pasta dough rolls itself into a tube-like structure. Boil the cavetjell in salted water and serve with a meat sauce, preferably lamb. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Serve.

Note: In Southern Italy pasta is always made using just flour and water but in the North, eggs are often added.
 

PIZZE RENDINJE

On a baker’s mat mix corn flour and warm water. Knead until consistent and soft to the touch, but not sticky. Roll corn flour dough into a circle, no bigger than the mattoni (bricks) on which it will be baked. Cover and stoke the fire. After 30 minutes check the rendinje and once cooked removed from fire, clean with a dry cloth the residual ashes, and slice. Cut each slice in half (opening the dough). Fry anchovies sott’olio (See Note: acciughe/alice) for 2-3 minutes and garnish pizza. Additionally, dried hot peppers can be fried with the anchovies for extra zest. Drink with glass of regional wine.

Note: the corn flour pizza is a piatto povero (a plate of the poor) and in times of hunger it was eaten with chicory, beets or other vegetables from one’s own garden. The vegetables were boiled then lightly fried in olive oil and garlic. Today the plate is still made and its original taste has been conserved. Most Morronesi prefer it topped with acciughe instead of alice. Acciughe and alice are both types of anchovies, both popular in Italy. Using any anchovies packed in oil, however, will suffice.
 

I SCRPPELL

On a baker’s mat mix 1 kilogram flour, brewer’s yeast and ½ teaspoon of salt with 300 grams boiled potatoes. The boiled potatoes will soften the mixture. Roughly knead the dough until it is velvety and elastic. Break into tiny pieces. Place in bowl, cover with cloth, and let stand for 30 minutes in a warm place. Once risen, place the dough pieces in a frying pan 1-½ centimeters deep of olive oil. Heat well making sure, however, that the olive oil does not reach its smoking point. When golden remove from oil, let drip dry on paper towels, place onto serving plate and sprinkle with powered sugar.

Note: Scrppell’ are traditionally eaten during Christmas and on
S. Giuseppe’s Day.