L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES FRANCESCA BEZZONE T he fact it became popular doesn't mean that Hal- loween belongs t o I t a l y . C h i l - d r e n l o v e i t , o f c o u r s e , b e c a u s e t h e y g o t u s e d t o trick or treating very quickly — who wouldn't get used to t h e i d e a o f g o i n g a r o u n d town in a costume to ask candy? — and the commer- cial appeal of the feast cer- tainly made a lot of busines- ses happy. But the period between the end of October and the beginning of November for us has always been that of the Giorno dei Santi and G i o r n o d e i M o r t i , A l l Saints and All Souls' day. Celebrated respectively on t h e 1 s t a n d t h e 2 n d o f N o v e m b e r , t h e s e a r e t h e days when we remember the p e o p l e w e l o s t , w e c l e a n their gravestones and set c o l o r f u l f l o w e r s , u s u a l l y chrysanthemums, on them. Across Italy, All Saints and All Souls are days of tra- dition also in the kitchen. W h e n I w a s s m a l l , m y grandmother would start early and prepare zuppa di ceci, chickpeas soup, enri- ched with sage and the pièce de resistance of her recipe, p i g ' s t r o t t e r s . T h e y w e r e used to add thickness and f l a v o r t o t h e s o u p . S h e would usually remove them before serving, leaving them for my father and grand- father, who loved them. Making a proper chick- peas soup for All Souls' day is quite a feat, really. First of all, our little round friends need to be soaked at least 12 hours before being cooked — an entire night would do b e s t . T h e n , t h e y n e e d t o slowly simmer and cook for a long time, so that all the flavors mix, they get soft a n d t e n d e r a n d t h e s o u p gains thickness and creami- ness. R e s t a s s u r e d t h a t m y memories are shared by the vast majority of people in Italy, from North to South a n d a c r o s s g e n e r a t i o n s , because the whole country l o v e s c h i c k p e a s o n t h e Giorno dei Morti. Recipes may change slightly from region to region, but their presence is ubiquitous. In fact other types of legumes are common, too. But why? As usual, we need to step back in time quite a bit to understand it. It seems that t h e a s s o c i a t i o n b e t w e e n c h i c k p e a s ( a n d a l s o f a v a beans) with the world of the Dead was strong already in G r e e k a n d R o m a n t i m e s : Ionian people from the 7th c e n t u r y B C t h o u g h t t h a t during the Anthesteria — o n e o f t h e f o u r f e s t i v a l s Athens would dedicate to Dyonisus, that took place b e t w e e n F e b r u a r y a n d M a r c h — t h e D e a d c o u l d return to Earth. And so, the living would prepare large pots of chickpeas and fava beans for them, so that they could eat before returning to the Great Beyond. T h e R o m a n s , o n t h e other hand, had the habit to consume fava beans during t h e i r f u n e r a l b a n q u e t s , because they believed the souls of the Dead lay in their pods and the long roots of their plants connected the world of the living to the O t h e r w o r l d . C h r i s t i a n s made these pagan traditions theirs, and would normally consume fava beans on All Souls'day, while sitting besi- de the tombs of their loved Chickpeas are popular in Italy for All Souls' Day (Photo: Dulsita/Dreamstime) Chickpeas and ribs' soup: the ultimate dish of our Giorno dei Morti Continued to page 32

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