L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano I n I t a l y , h u m b l e sagra (plural sagre) is a festival that cele- brates a specific type o f f o o d , d r i n k , o r product from a town. Sagre have become such popular events that almost every vil- lage in Umbria, and probably in the whole of Italy, has one. T h e f e s t i v a l s r e p r e s e n t a great opportunity to revive villages that are not on the tourist trails, and often to collect funds to repair the bell tower, clean up a chil- dren's playground or to take c a r e o f o t h e r c o m m u n i t y needs. The sagra involves virtual- ly all families in the village, with the women cooking the more "sophisticated" dishes. The men are divided up to grill huge amounts of meat or to provide traffic control and security services, while the youth and children proudly serve at the tables. Visitors gather under large marquees and eat at long communal tables scattered with paper mats and dispos- able cutlery. It is definitely not a romantic experience. H o w e v e r , i f y o u s k i p t h e crazy queues that form out- side the food stands on week- ends, it is actually quite fun t o j o i n t h e l o c a l s f o r a n evening of light-hearted and absolutely authentic enjoy- ment. The first sagra I visited in my life was held in San Bia- gio della Valle which is one of those villages in Umbria LETIZIA MATTIACCI where hardly anyone visits except for the Sagra della Fragola (Strawberry festi- v a l ) w h i c h h a s b e e n h e l d since 1983, at the end of May or beginning of June. Something must have hap- pened however, because at a certain point the event was r e - n a m e d S a n B i a g i o i n Festa. Not surprisingly, the signature trofie (short twist- ed pasta) with ricotta and strawberries must have lost some if its appeal in favor of classics such as wild boar pappardelle and all varieties of grilled pork. In our home, we only eat strawberries in May, when they are ripe and juicy, and definitely not on pasta. I am especially fond of strawber- ries for dessert when soaked in wine or other spirits. This habit is because of my Mum, as she never gave us s t r a w b e r r i e s w i t h c r e a m . Being Sicilian, she didn't believe in cream. Before we ate the strawberries, they had to be drenched in wine and sugar for at least half a day. Obviously, she did not worry about giving us children a lit- tle wine, nor did she turn us into alcoholics. After so many hours in a bowl there is not much alcohol left anyway, but the soaking works like m a g i c t o c o a x o u t t h e i r dreamy taste and wonderful aroma. Ingredients (Serve 3-4) • 250 ml (1 cup) Prosecco, V i n S a n t o , M o s c a t o o r a dessert wine of your choice. • 2-3 tablespoons of light brown sugar • juice of half a lemon • 1 t e a s p o o n o f v a n i l l a extract or zest of half a lemon or orange • 500 g (1 lb) strawberries, washed and sliced Mix the wine and brown sugar in a saucepan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat, add the strawberries, and set aside for 10-15 minutes, or until cooled to room temper- ature. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract or citrus zest and refrigerate for at least one hour, and up to a day. In Italy, we serve fruit and f r u i t s a l a d s a s a d e s s e r t , unadorned, except maybe w i t h a s m a l l a m o u n t o f whipped cream. If the straw- berries are ripe, their flavor will shine through the lovely marinade. L e t i z i a M a t t i a c c i i s a cookbook author and owner of Alla Madonna del Piatto Cooking School and Agritur- i s m o i n A s s i s i , U m b r i a , https://incampagna.com. This recipe has been previ- ously published in Mrs. Mat- t i a c c i c o o k b o o k e n t i t l e d "Festa Italiana." Delicious, fresh prosecco strawberries (Photo: Letizia Mattiacci) LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES A taste of summer: prosecco strawberries

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