If you are living in Italy, no doubt your focus will be on Carnival season and those amazing traditional sweets appearing everywhere; tempting us to indulge before the Lenten period begins. Each region of Italy has its own unique way of celebrating this event on the Italian calendar, but all find their foundations in ancient traditions.
Through planning our family trip to Italy scheduled for June, I’ve been doing some reading on the region of Basilicata also known as Lucania, where my
parents are from and came across a lovely recount written for
Italy Magazine of the famous masked
Carnival in Tricarico, a town and commune in the province of Matera, Basilicata.
Through photos, you will see this festivals representation of the blessing and seasonal
migration of cattle with characters parading dressed in rainbow-coloured
streamers, bells and masks. The region is home to many other carnivals that
take you through a journey of traditional Lucanian myths, celebrations and
rituals. It has further inspired me to read Carlo Levi’s recount of his exile in this region
of Italy in his famous book titled
Cristo si e Fermato a Eboli (Christ Stopped at Eboli).
A few years ago, I came across some old footage from the
1960’s of mamma's birth town of Montemurro, also in this region, showing
Carnevale celebrations aligned with the
season of the pig - sausage making. My recount of this along with the film clip and reference to a sweet called
sanguinaccio that both my grandmothers and mamma once prepared are
found
here. In that footage (once
you get passed the slaughter of the pig) you will note the parade of characters
in traditional costumes interpreting the months of the year and the seasons
through recitals, traditional singing and dancing. This video is very indicative of the times and even though not as spectacular as the more famous carnivals, it is nonetheless significant to the region.
On the day before Ash Wednesday, everyone eats homemade pasta
(orecchiette, fusilli, and
cavatelli) flavoured with a meat sauce,
generally pork. It is a true celebration
of the seasons and the produce on offer before entering the period of Lent.
Distance and the opposite seasons have erased some of those
customs in my family. We still make the
traditional sweets, but no longer limit these pleasures to the Carnevale period; and we
still make our own sausages but during the winter of our adopted country. It is therefore only natural that for the
month of February as part of my contribution to our Cucina Conversations topic, that I should be inspired to
celebrate my season’s produce - the wonderful summer zucchini growing in my parent’s garden. This vegetable has been consumed in many
varied dishes, but one that I will share with you here is la parmigiana di
zucchine, considered fit for any celebration.
La Parmigiana di Zucchine (Zucchini Parmigiana)
A parmigiana made
with eggplants or with zucchini is a very common vegetable accompaniment or contorno as it is known in Italian. When prepared with summer zucchini, it makes for a perfectly light summer meal served on its own with lots of
crusty bread on the side.
To make the parmigiana,
the zucchini are sliced length ways, but due to the large size of these ones, I
sliced them in rounds instead. They are
then dusted with flour and fried before arranging in layers within a baking dish. You can opt for a lighter version of grilling
the zucchini slices rather than frying them, but it is Carnevale season after all!
Each layer is covered with tomato salsa, a sprinkling of
grated pecorino cheese and fresh basil leaves. You can add some mozzarella
pieces as well and if you have access to fresh pecorino cheese, it is even more
delectable. The amount of layers is dependent
on the quantity of zucchini and the size of the baking dish, but on average aim
for 3-4 layers. The parmigiana is
then baked and served hot or cold.
Ingredients:
Preparation of zucchini:
2 large zucchini or 6 small zucchini sliced 5mm thick
½ cup plain flour to dust zucchini slices
1 cup vegetable or canola oil to shallow fry zucchini
Ingredients for sauce:
¼ cup olive oil for sauce
1 kg fresh ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced (or use
canned)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup fresh whole basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Assembling parmigiana:
1 cup grated pecorino cheese
Fresh mozzarella cheese
Extra basil leaves
Wash, dry and cut the zucchini into strips or rounds 5 mm in
thickness and sprinkle with a little salt. Leave them on some paper towel for
about 20 – 30 minutes to help draw out some of the liquid.
Pat dry before coating the zucchini in some flour and then shallow
fry them in batches. Place the fried zucchini on a rack to allow excess oil to
drip.
Meanwhile prepare the sauce. In a medium saucepan add the
olive oil, finely chopped onion and crushed garlic. Fry off the onion and
garlic until translucent and add the diced tomatoes and some water. Simmer for
30 minutes and season to taste. Once
cooked add some shredded basil leaves.
To assemble the parmigiana,
begin with a layer of sauce at the base of the baking tray, then place the zucchini
side by side. Layer the sauce, sprinkle the cheese and then some basil leaves. Repeat
the process. If you have sliced the zucchini
lengthwise, position the next layer in the opposite orientation. Continue this
until you have 3 - 4 layers or until all ingredients have been used. To finish
the parmigiana, add a layer of sauce,
sprinkle with cheese.
Bake in a moderate oven for 25 – 30 minutes. Once cooked allow it to rest for a few minutes before serving. Garnish with extra basil leaves.
Enjoy!
I can't wait for Summer to come around so that I can try this recipe! It sounds divine! You can start new Summer-themed Carnival traditions for everyone in the Southern Hemisphere!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great vegetable to use in this manner due to its blandness. I also like to cut smaller zucchini in half, scoop out the center and fill them. I like your idea of summer themed Carnival traditions for the Southern Hemisphere! xx
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