From the story of Saint Joseph to the eternal clash between Italy and France up to Sicilian sugar. The best desserts of the pre-Easter period from De Santis Santa Croce
Call them cream puffs or zeppole, if you prefer, what is certain is thatSan Giuseppe is traditionally the party celebrated with this very inviting dessert that pays homage to the festival of dad.
The recipe has Neapolitan roots: the first traces, in fact, are found in theTheoretical-practical cookery treatise del 1837 by the cook and intellectualIppolito Cavalcanti. In the manual, the Duke of Buonvicino prescribes, in rigorous Neapolitan language, the ingredients (flour, water, liqueur, marsala, salt, sugar and oil) for frying this particular pasta.
The origin of zeppole is twofold . The first dates back directly to the history of the Holy Family.Saint Joseph, in fact, to maintainMary andJesus iniziò a cimentarsi come friggitore ambulante oltre che falegname! Non a caso a Roma San Giuseppe è apostrofato in modo simpatico come Er Frittellaro:
“San Giuseppe frittellaro so good and so dear,
you who are so powerful as to help the people,
all full of hope we send you this request:
makes those who desire war disappear on the earth”
A second hypothesis traces zeppole back to Roman history. March 17th was the celebration ofLiberalia, in which children became adults. During this day, entry into society was celebrated with abundant banquets in which wine accompanied the traditional wheat pancakes, which can be consideredthe ancestors of our zeppole!
We cannot reveal to you why our San Giuseppe dessert is so particular, the recipe is strictlytop secret : -) We can only reveal two clues:
- The zeppole are bakedtwiceper day,morning and afternoon, from the artisan laboratory;
- The original idea comes fromgrandfather Sergio who handed down his recipe from generation to generation generation.
The other desserts: fried and baked frappeor
If you go to Naples, Bari or Palermo they arechatter. But Milan has also adopted this definition, handed down from the southern migrants of the twentieth century to the new generation Milanese. In Central Italy, however, with Rome in the lead, they arefrappe. In Bolognafrappole, in Tuscanycenci. In Piedmont and Liguria there arelies. The truth is that they are one of the typical desserts of the period between Carnival and Lent: fried and baked, it is difficult to resist this mixture of eggs and flour filled with sugar!
Tradition traces them back to Roman times, when women prepared sweets called “frictilia” fried in pork fat. The occasion was the celebration ofSaturnalis, or rather our Carnival. They were cooked in large quantities because they had to be enough for the whole of Lent.
An alternative version of the origins of frappe is to be found in the Neapolitan tradition. According to legend, tired of chatting, QueenMargherita of Savoy commissioned the chef Raffaele Esposito to prepare a dessert for her to satisfy her palate. The result was a tasty dessert which was specially calledchiacchiera.
Without forgettingcastagnole: un concentrato di golosità in un solo boccone! La ricetta delle castagnole è molto antica e risalirebbe a prima del 700.
Marron glacè
Before Leonardo's Mona Lisa, Corsica and Zidane Materazzi, the rivalryItaly France nasce con uno dei dolcetti più conosciuti in queste settimane. I marron glacé, or candied chestnuts, thebread of the poor that gourmet cuisine has transformed into a delicious dessert. Italy has claimed its paternity since 1500 with the court chefs of the Duke of SavoyCarlo Emanuele I, in the Cuneo area. The French respond by waving a manual from 1667 (Le parfait Confiturier, forerunner of modern TV cooking programmes) in which the chefFrancois Pierre La Varenne listed the marron glacé among the pieces prized products of Nouvelle cuisine.
Glazed orange peels
This dessert Sicilian, typical of the Christmas and Easter period, has probable Middle Eastern, Arab or Eastern origins, a reflection of the populations who conquered the island (Normans primarily). Preservation insugar, for years, was the only known method for preserving food over time. It was widespread in the areas ofMesopotamia andChina. A practice also known by the ancient Romans who often preserved the fish by immersing it in honey. Candied fruit, whose etymology is of Arabic origin withQandi(sugar cane), only made their appearance on the tables of the country around 1500, during the Baroque period.
Between Carnival and Lent our proposals satisfy all tastes, in large or miniature formats.Come and visit us in Rome in via Santa Croce di Gerusalemme 17!
De Santis Santa Croce, V. di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme 17
For reservations • 06.70301912
Write to us: info@DeSantisSantaCroce.it
