Dishes of San Giuseppe: the menu of typical recipes to cook at home
By Saint Joseph you can create an entire menu: in fact there are many typical meals which are made for this anniversary, which coincides with the Fathers Day. Of course I reign cakes, mostly fried, but there are also traditional starters, main courses and side dishes: simple recipes, often from the peasant tradition, for a feast that just precedes the beginning of spring and is therefore also a symbol of rebirth. here are the typical dishes of San Giuseppe to live at home.
The link between the feast of San Giuseppe and food
The feast of San Giuseppe has a special connection with the fooddesigned as a tool for creating relationships and networks of solidarity: an example are the Tables of Saint Josepha ritual widespread in different parts of Italy: a practice that considers food as the social cement of the community of believers and the sharing of it as a moment of mutual aid.
The different rituals take place more or less in the same way: the day before the feast, the families who intend to fulfill a wish or express a particular devotion to the saint set up a a table on which they are displayed different dishes or food to offer to less well-off people in the community. THE dishes usually I am 13 years old, like the guests at the last supper: in some spaces around the table there are also members of the family or community, in a scene where each one plays a specific saint. The diners, traditionally the most needy, must taste something with each dish, as a token of thanks.
The Tables of San Giuseppe, with the necessary local variations, take place in different parts of the Sicilybut also in Calabria, Salento and in the rest of Puglia. Particularly famous is the celebration of San Marzano from San Giuseppea town in the province of Taranto that preserves Albanian traditions and where the ancient Arbereshe language is spoken: here is also made the largest and oldest bonfire of San Giuseppe, in the local dialect great fireborn in 1866.
But the Tables of Saint Joseph are not the only rite that underlines the link between food and celebration: another very beautiful tradition are the Salemi Altarsin the region of Trapani, structures covered with incredibly beautiful leaves bread shapes handmade, with indisputable artistic value.
Saint-Joseph dishes: a complete menu for the celebration
We know that San Giuseppe are fried: whether sweet or savory, most of these recipes include a frying. But in the list of typical San Giuseppe dishes, there are also soups, pastas, side dishes based on artichokes and thistles and, of course, lots of sweets (most of which are fried). In short, for this party you can cook a menu from A to Z.
1. Fried cod
Fried cod is a dish linked to different times of the year: not only the Christmas period, but also the feast of San Giuseppe. Particularly in central Italy, but also in some southern regions, cod is wrapped in Beat and fried in boiling oil, then presented as an appetizer. Crispy and delicious, it is a dish that is also offered as street food.
2. Focaccia from Gravina
A typical dish of Gravina in Puglia preparation for Saint-Joseph, in the local dialect noise: a kind of calzone stuffed with “sponsali” onions (onion bulbs that have not grown and are still very young), spiral anchovies, raisins. It is a focaccia flavored with local extra virgin olive oil, which can be enjoyed at the table but also in the streets of the city.
3. St. Joseph’s Bread
One of the main products of the San Giuseppe festivities is the window: a very important symbol of rebirth and abundance, with a very old value, also linked to the transition to the new season. The “Pupi ‘ri’ San Giuseppi”, that is to say loaves of bread with particular shapes, which represent the daily objects of the holy carpenter, are often found on the tables of certain territories. THE traditional recipes It is more variedhow many are the Italian kitchens: however, many are united by artistic or symbolic forms like those of the Votive breads of Salemi, in the province of Trapani or the Cuccetelle from Minturno (Latin).
4. San Giuseppe pasta and chickpeas
Ciceri e tria, that is pasta and chickpeas as they are made in Puglia, but also mass and trial as in Sicily: in short, a fresh pasta – usually partly cooked according to the traditional method, partly fried – accompanied by this. The tradition of this recipe is linked to the act of reciting the Rosary: ​​a recipe that has come down to us and is used throughout Italy.
5. Pasta with sardines
A traditional Sicilian dish prepared for San Giuseppe and beyond: pasta with sardines and wild fennel. A recipe that varies from region to region: some also include pine nuts and raisins, others also toasted breadcrumbs. Together with Minetrone St. Josephis one of the typical dishes of the feast in Sicily.
6. Artichokes with the hat
Another typical Sicilian recipe, especially from Palermo, which is eaten in San Giuseppe with pasta with sardines: headed artichokes, better known as artichokes. with egg cap. A simple recipe but full of flavors at the same time: the artichokes are stuffed with a soft mixture made from breadcrumbs, caciocavallo, parsley, salt and pepper, then “capped” by dipping them in egg and finally cooked in a pan. .
7. Meatballs or cardoon fritters
Another main ingredient of this feast are I cardseasonal in February-March: pancakes, cardoons in paste, meatballs, many recipes are made throughout the peninsula, especially in the South, where they are also widely used for soups and pastas.
8. Zeppole di San Giuseppe
We finally come to the dessert chapter, which can only be opened with the donuts, a word that in Italy refers to many different preparations, for different occasions. The zeppole di San Giuseppe are a typical traditional dessert Neapolitan pastry, prepared slightly differently in different regions of southern Italy: there are also zeppoles from Sardinia, Lazio (also called bigè), Puglia, Teramo, Molise, Sicily, Calabria, etc. In any case it is a fried or baked dessert, often filled with a velvety cream. You can also prepare them in a savory version or, if you have guests on a gluten-free diet, in a gluten-free version.
9. Crispy rice and Sfinci di San Giuseppe
There are many Sicilian sweets for Saint Joseph: among the most famous you will find the Sphinx of Saint Joseph (from sfinci) no rice crisps. The Sfinci are typical of Western Sicily, in particular of Palermo: their name comes from the Arabic word “sponge”. They are good fried puff pastries and covered with a Ricotta cream sheep’s milk, pieces of chocolate, pumpkin and candied orange peel. In eastern Sicily, especially in the region of Catania, the are part of the tradition crispelle: cylindrical strips made from rice which are fried in boiling oil then covered with orange blossom honey, icing sugar and cinnamon. Finally, in Messina, a half-version is produced, the rice sfinci: they are called like sweets from Palermo, but are more similar to those from Catania, with the difference that they are dusted with icing sugar instead of honey.
10. Tortelli di San Giuseppe
And typical Lombard dish: the tortelli di San Giuseppe, classic fried treats typical of the whole Ticino region, are prepared during carnival days and for San Giuseppe. These delicious fried balls can be eaten both empty and stuffed: the dough is similar to that of a choux pastry, soft and crispy at the same time. Very similar to tortelli, the Saint Joseph pancakesare a widespread dessert throughout northern Italy and, in particular, in the area known as the Four Provinces (Plaisance, Pavia, Genoa and Alessandria).
11. Bolognese ravioli
THE bolognese ravioli these are typical desserts from the Bologna region, made with a pastry similar to shortcrust pastry and filled with bolognese mostarda, a typical jam made with different types of fruit. Today they are also found at other times of the year and they are also made with other types of jam (plums or apricots for example): there is also a red version colored with alchermes.
