L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 38 L'Italo-Americano LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES M arch 19 marks the annual Feast of St. Joseph or San Giuseppe. Saint Joseph is the patron saint and pro- tector of the Catholic Church as well as fathers, travellers, work- ers, and unborn children. Name days or "onomastico, in Italy are celebrated as much (sometimes even more) than your birthday! As far as 'name days' go in Italy, this is by far one of the most pop- ular and widely celebrated. His role in Jesus' life is also com- memorated on this day in many countries by the designation of father's day. Festivities across the country range from purely reli- gious traditions to large feasts and street festivals. In each case, thanks is given to St. Joseph for answering a prayer. Saint Joseph's Table In the Middle Ages there was a severe drought in Sicily that caused failed crops and countless deaths due to famine. It is said that the people prayed to God for rain and prayed to St. Joseph to plead with God on their behalf. They promised to prepare a large feast to honor God and St. Joseph ANNA ROMANO & ANGELA DESALVO if their prayers were answered. Their prayers were answered and so at harvest time they prepared 'la tavola di San Giuseppe', St. Joseph's table - a feast made with foods from their crops. The fava bean survived the drought and saved people from starvation so it is considered a symbol of luck and for this reason fava bean dish- es are traditionally part of the St. Joseph's day feast. Meatless dish- es are also prepared for St. Joseph's day as it always falls during the time of Lent, the start of the Easter cycle in the Christian church during which people abstain from eating meat and often other guilty pleasures for 40 days. Bread crumbs, representing saw dust, are also incorporated into at least one dish to pay homage to St. Joseph who was a carpenter by trade. Zeppole There are varying stories of why and how the zeppola became connected with St.Joseph. Some say it is because Joseph sold fried pastries to make a living while in Egypt with his family, after flee- ing Herod's slaughter of the Innocents. Another two stories involve Mary and a miracle, both ending with the making of beauti- ful morsels of fried dough! When it is all said and done however, what we know for sure is that zep- pole are the most famous dessert enjoyed on this saint day. In ancient times, zeppole were made from dough that was left- over and then fried. This evolved over time to include many varia- tions. Two popular versions made for St. Joseph's day are a fried sweet dough ring and a baked choux pastry ring. Both are filled with either a ricotta filling or pas- try cream and sprinkled with icing sugar before serving. This recipe uses a choux pastry (egg dough) that is shaped using a pastry bag. The first layer is piped into a fully enclosed circle and the top layer into a ring in order to leave room for the delicious fill- ing! You can use the same dough to make classic cream puffs and profiteroles. It is baked so I guess you can say this is the "healthier" of the two and no excuse not to try it!! Recipe For the Venetian Cream • 7 large egg yolks • 10 tablespoons granulated sugar • 3 1/2 cups homogenized milk • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 7 tablespoons all purpose flour • Whipped dessert topping (qty as desired) For the pastry • 1 cup water • 1/2 cup butter or margarine • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 3 teaspoons granulated sugar • 1 cup all purpose flour • 4 large eggs • For the Venetian Cream Using an electric mixer, beat together the egg yolks, sugar, milk and vanilla until blended well. Then add the flour and con- tinue to beat lightly until all incor- porated. Transfer the mixture to a heavy bottom sauce pan and over medium low heat, while stirring constantly, cook the mixture until thickened and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Transfer to a glass bowl, cover the entire surface of the cream with food safe plastic wrap, let cool to room temperature then refrigerate. Just before using, remove from the refrigerator, add a few table- spoonfuls of whipped dessert top- ping and gently mix to combine. Be sure not to make the cream too runny though. Now it is ready to use. For the pastry In a large heavy bottom pot, add the water, butter, salt, and sugar and bring the mixture to a boil. Then add the flour all at once. Reduce the temperature to medium and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat and transfer to the bowl of electric mixer. Let the dough cool slightly, and while on medium low speed, add the eggs one at a time and mix to blend in between additions. Do not over beat. The dough should be glossy when it is done. Onto a parchment paper lined pan, with a piping bag (we used a Wilton 6B tip), pipe a circular base of dough (filled in circle) about 2 1/2 inches in diameter then pipe a ring of dough on top of the outside part of the circle leaving the centre open to form a well for the filling. Bake them at 375F for 45 min- utes or until well coloured. Remove them to a cookie rack to cool. Once completely cooled, pipe them full of venetian cream and sprinkle with icing sugar. Zeppole with choux pastry and Venetian cream. Photo by ppi09 Zeppole di San Giuseppe THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017

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