L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano T a r a l l i a r e a recent culinary o b s e s s i o n o f mine. It all began o n e e v e n i n g w h e n I r e c e i v e d a n impromptu invitation for dinner from a friend, who set up a quick aperitivo, too: a g l a s s o f w h i t e , s o m e parmesan cubes, and cold cuts accompanied by a bowl filled to the brim of taralli. While I had them before, I h a d n e v e r r e a l l y t h o u g h t much about them, but that evening changed my mind entirely. C r u n c h y , t a s t y , a n d somehow indulgent in their simplicity, taralli are small, round, and fragrant morsels of bread dough, enriched with olive oil and white wine. They can be also flavored with things like chili peppers or fennel seeds, as well as olives or onions. They are traditional of Puglia, the heel of the Italian boot, but t o d a y t h e y a r e c o m m o n across the country. Considering my newly- born love for taralli, I was happy to find an article by L a C u c i n a I t a l i a n a published in recent months fully dedicated to them. It turns out they are not only good, but also have a very interesting history and, as y o u m a y e x p e c t , t h e i r connection with the Apulian territory is deep. T h e r e a r e a v a r i e t y o f theories about the origin of t h e t e r m " t a r a l l o . " S o m e linguists believe it may come from the Latin verb torreo, or "to toast," while others think it is the union of the old Italic tar and Frankish danal, both used in ancient t i m e s t o d e f i n e a t y p i c a l r o u n d A l p i n e b r e a d . However, according to La Cucina Italiana, the word comes more likely from the a n c i e n t G r e e k d a r a t o s , which we could translate as "type of bread." GIULIA FRANCESCHINI around the beginning of the 15th century, when Puglia was hit by a dreadful famine. According to lore, taralli w e r e c r e a t e d b y a c r a f t y mother who, in order to give s o m e t h i n g t o e a t t o h e r hungry children, mixed what she could find in her pantry - flour, salt, extra virgin olive oil, and white wine. She then flattened the dough, sliced it into stripes, rolled it, and shaped little rings with it, which she left raising for a few hours, and then baked. Today's recipe for taralli remains the same. With time, special flavors were added to these basic ingredients, with each area of Puglia choosing its own and also changing the shape, which can be round or like t h e n u m b e r " 8 . " I n h e r famous novel Il Ventre di Napoli, published in 1884 a n d d e d i c a t e d t o t h e difficulties and deprivation of certain areas of Naples, Matilde Serao wrote that, in Naples, taralli were made with leftovers from bread baking and were consumed especially by the poor. In the very same period, they began b e i n g a s s o c i a t e d w i t h religion, because they were made in large quantities by nuns in their convents; as it was with other recipes of our c u l i n a r y t r a d i t i o n s t h e y c r e a t e d o r a d a p t e d , n u n s were very jealous of the way their taralli were made, and w o u l d n o t d i s c l o s e t h e i r i n g r e d i e n t s t o a n y o n e . Historical sources state that they were a common food f o r p i l g r i m s w h o w a l k e d t h r o u g h B a s i l i c a t a , Campania, and Calabria to reach Bari and honor Saint Nicholas. If, in the past, they were largely produced at home or in convents, today taralli are available in most bakeries in the South and supermarkets a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y . T h e y have also become part of the P r o d o t t i A g r o a l i m e n t a r i Tradizionali Italiani (PAI). A s w e s a i d , t h e y c o m e i n d i f f e r e n t s h a p e s a n d , especially, flavors: besides more traditional variants with fennel seeds and chili peppers, we also have taralli with capocollo (a traditional I t a l i a n c o l d c u t ) , p i z z a - flavored taralli, and even s w e e t t a r a l l i , c o v e r e d i n icing or melted chocolate. The most famous among sweet taralli are certainly taralli Pugliesi al vincotto, w h i c h a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y p o p u l a r i n t h e F o g g i a p r o v i n c e o f P u g l i a . O n c e t r a d i t i o n a l l y b a k e d t o celebrate engagements and weddings, they are 15 to 20 centimeters (6 to 8 inches a p p r o x i m a t e l y ) i n c i r c u m f e r e n c e a n d 3 centimeters (just above an i n c h ) t h i c k . T h e i r k e y i n g r e d i e n t i s v i n c o t t o , c o o k e d m u s t , a l o n g w i t h spices like cinnamon and cloves. Some curiosities: taralli, sometimes, are not simply baked in the oven, but also boiled beforehand, in a way similar to what we do when making bagels or pretzels. The recipe for this variety of t a r a l l i , k n o w n a s s c a l d a t e l l i , s o m e t i m e s omits the white wine and adds eggs - but not always! I n a f a s h i o n s i m i l a r t o another traditional southern delicacy, Sicily's arancini, s c a l d a t e l l i c a n b e b o t h masculine and feminine in g r a m m a t i c a l g e n d e r : t h e masculine "scaldatello" is common in Gargano and the areas around Manfredonia and Cerignola, while around Foggia and Lucera they are k n o w n i n d i a l e c t a s " s c a v e d a t i l l e " o r "scaldatelle" in Italian. LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES A perfect snack: Puglia's taralli And like bread, a staple of n u t r i t i o n a c r o s s t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n s i n c e t h e beginning of time, taralli have always been common on Apulian tables and, just l i k e m a n y o f o u r m o s t d e l i c i o u s d e l i c a c i e s , t h e y were created from simple i n g r e d i e n t s , i n t i m e s o f hardship. Apparently, they were made for the first time Taralli are made with the water, flour, extra virgin olive oil and white wine (Photo: Luca Santilli/Dreamstime) OPEN 8AM - 5PM MONDAY TO SATURDAY. SUNDAY CLOSED

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