Sweets for the feast of Saint Lucia: delicious and simple typical recipes
A particularly warm celebration for a beloved saint, the day of St. LUCIAconsidered according to an old popular saying “the shortest day of all time” is a recurrence which has its roots in the story of this young Sicilian saint, protector of sight and symbol of the passage from light to darkness, whose last feast before the Christmas time. In the religious tradition, which, as always, is closely linked to popular culture, the December 13 it represents a symbolically decisive passage: indeed, it celebrates the moment of the year from which the days would begin to “lengthen”, leaving more time for daylight hours. Even knowing that in reality the winter solstice falls between the 21st and 22nd of the same month, the feast of Saint Lucia remains a real turning point between light and the dark to honor and celebrate, even at the table.
That of Saint Lucia is one ancient history, full of symbolism and twists and turns: a young fiancée, during a pilgrimage she was “charged” by Sant’Agata to miraculously heal his sick mother, miracle which earned him, at the time of the Inquisition, an accusation of witchcraft first, then a death sentence. The death, sanctification and feast of Saint Lucy are inextricably linked to sight, of which the saint is the protector, and, more generally, to rebirth concept: it would indeed seem that on December 13 1646, during a terrible faminea quail flew into the Cathedral of Syracuse, anticipating the news of the imminent arrival of a shipment of grain and, with it, the end of the hunger period and food shortages.
A very warm celebration in the southern regions, the feast of Saint Lucia finds its place in all traditions and regional recipes arriving even in the lands of Northern Europe. How to celebrate the Syracusan saint and the arrival of better days? With typical dishes and recipes that very often have wheat as the protagonist: arancini (or arancine, if you prefer) in the eyes of Santa Lucia, sweet taralli from Puglia in a sweet version, passing by the famous Venetian almond, here is all sweets to taste December 13.
I Cats of Saint Luciaoh fluffy cats in swedish they are gods treaty sweet and delicious prepared in Sweden on the occasion of December 13, the shortest and darkest day of the year, during the feast of Saint Lucia. Prepared with a golden yellow brioche dough, thanks to the Saffronthese delicious buns are decorated with two raisins and their shape recalls the curled tails of cats, from which they take their name.
Read the whole recipe
The santa lucia kennel it is a typical Sicilian sweet that is usually prepared with boiled wheat flavored with ricotta, chocolate drops, candied fruit and a little cinnamon. It is a dessert that is prepared in the days preceding the Christmas holidays, precisely on December 13, in Santa Lucia: the cuccia is a typical preparation, especially in the cities of Palermo and Syracuse, which dispute its origin, but it is widespread and appreciated throughout the region. Here’s how to prepare it at home, to bring the Sicilian tradition to the festive table.
Read the whole recipe
The saint lucia eyes cakes they are gods Glazed Tarallini from Pugliatypical of the city of bariwhich are prepared in Christmas time of December 13the day it is celebrated St. LUCIA. They are necessary to make them very few ingredients: flour, extra virgin olive oil and white wine. Once baked, the tarallini will be covered with a white icing based on water and sugar, called in dialect sclepp. The little eyes of saint lucia they owe their name and shape to a mollusc called rough star. In particular, reference is made to the habitation of this typically Mediterranean mollusk, formed by a shell and a calcareous layer eye shape which acts as a “front door”. The spiral that characterizes this eye is the symbology linked to these soft icy taralli. But here’s how to prepare them in just a few steps.
Read the whole recipe
He almond nougat it is a dessert prepared with toasted almonds, honey, sugar, egg whites and wafer. Nougat is a specialty widespread throughout the Mediterranean basin and its name derives from the Latin bullfighting, which means “toast”, in reference to the roasting of the dried fruits that make up the cake. In our preparation we used almonds, but the composition of the nougat varies according to the dried fruits grown in the country of origin: in fact, it is also possible to prepare nougat with hazelnuts, pistachios or peanuts. There are two varieties of almond nougat in pastry: the hard consistency, which can be cooked for up to 12 hours, and the soft almond nougat, which has a shorter cooking time. So here is how to prepare homemade almond nougat.
Read the whole recipe
