The Feast of San Domenico

First Thursday in May, Cocullo, Abruzzo, Italy

The town of Cocullo, in Abruzzo, Italy, is noted for a religious feast in honor of Saint Dominic who drove snakes out of their village. Sweet, wreath-like breads shaped like snakes biting their own tails are made in his honor on his feast day. There is also an actual snake festival where residents of Cocullo search the woods for snakes, which are then wrapped around the necks of specially trained men called serpari (snakemen) who stroll around the festival grounds holding out the snakes for people to pet. The snakes are later let loose to return back to the woods.

This lemony spring lamb stew is one of the dishes often cooked up as part of the San Domenico Feast day offerings.

Agnello Brodettato

This dish is adapted from a recipe by Anne Bianchi, from her book Italian Festival Food.

Extra virgin olive oil
½ cup pancetta, cut into small cubes
2 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
½ cup of all-purpose flour
A generous pinch of ground nutmeg
A smaller pinch of ground cinnamon
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 spring onion, cut into small dice, using some of the tender green stalk
2 young spring garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup dry Marsala
1 cup light meat broth or chicken broth
1 egg yolk
The grated zest and juice from 1 lemon
A handful of flat leaf parsley leaves, stemmed

In a large casserole fitted with a lid, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta and sauté until it’s crisp. Coat the lamb pieces in flour, shaking off excess. Add them to the casserole and brown them all over, seasoning with the nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and black pepper.

Add the onion and the garlic to the casserole and sauté until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the Marsala and let it boil for about 2 minutes. Add the broth. The liquid should almost cover the meat (if not, add more broth or a little water). Bring the liquid to a boil. Turn the heat to low, cover the casserole, and simmer, until the lamb is tender, about 2 hours.

Remove the lamb from the casserole and place it in a large, shallow serving bowl. Cover it with aluminum foil to keep it warm. Skim all the fat from the surface of the sauce. Whisk the egg yolk and lemon juice together in a small bowl and pour it into the casserole, whisking well over a very low heat just until the sauce gets creamy. Pull the casserole off the heat. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt or black pepper if needed. Strain the sauce over the lamb. Garnish with the parsley and the lemon zest. Serve right away. Rice is a good accompaniment for this light stew.

Dining with the Saints is written by Erica De Mane (www.ericademane.com)

Saint Patrick

 389 – 461 

Though not usually considered a novena saint, Saint Patrick is called upon by many for faith in the most trying of circumstances. Since he himself was forced to submit to living in a country not of his own choosing, he asists in accepting difficult situations where there is little hope of change. The patron saint of Ireland, he is credited with single-handedly changing the beliefs of the entire Irish nation through the purity and intensity of his faith. Saint Patrick’s following has spread to wherever the Irish have settled, especially in North America and Australia. He could never have imagined the astounding impact that his work in Ireland would have on the world.

 Novena to Saint Patrick

     O great apostle of Ireland, glorious Saint Patrick,

     To whom under God so many are indebted for the most

     Precious of all treasures, the great gift of faith,

     Receive our fervant thanks for the zeal and charity

     That have been to thousands the blessings so

     invaluable. We ask your intervention in receiving

     (Mention your request here). Ask for all who dwell in this land and the land of thy labors the precious light of Faith, and beg for us on whom its

glorious rays have long since beamed, the grace to regulate our lives by its sacred maxims. Amen

Say this novena nine times in a row for nine days in a row.

 Feast Day: March 17

 Patron Saint of: Ireland, Nigeria

 Invoked: for Faith, against rabies, serpents, the torments of hell

Pasta Con La Mollica

San Giuseppe, husband to Mary, patron saint of orphans, unwed mothers, the needy, the homeless, and all things family, both good and unfortunate, is one of the most important saints in Italy and in the Catholic world. He is a patron saint of Southern Italy and of Sicily in particular, having, through the peoples’s prayer, saved the island from a serious drought in the Middle Ages. His feast day, March 19, is known as La Tavola di San Giuseppe and is celebrated with enormous banquets. Every conceivable type of food is offered, and churches’ altars are festooned with decorative breads, sweet and savory, in honor not only of him but also of the spring solstice and the ancient tradition of celebrating the renewed fertility of the earth. The breads are shaped into fish, lambs, fruits, flowers, and just about any other of God’s creations.

San Giuseppe is also the patron of pastry cooks, so sweets play a big part in the celebration. Sfinci—deep-fried cream puffs filled with ricotta or custard—are the best-known pastries made in St. Joseph’s honor. You can find them in Palermo and in Brooklyn and in Philadelphia. In Naples they make the unfilled versoin called zeppole. Cassateddi, a sweet ricotta-filled ravioli, is a beautiful creation you’ll find on the St. Joseph’s Day table in many Sicilian homes. The sweet theme even extends to pasta. One of my favorite Saint Joseph’s Day dishes is pasta con la mollica. Mollica means soft bread crumbs in Italian, but the dish, probably from the Renaissance, also includes sugar, cinnamon, and a little garlic. The bread crumbs symbolize the sawdust that would have covered the floor of Joseph’s manger. The combination of flavors might sound odd, but they make a beautiful and strangely appealing dish worth tasting. Serve it in small portions as a first course, or even as a dessert.

Pasta Con La Mollica for San Giuseppe

(Serves 6 as a first course)

Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup homemade bread crumbs, not too finely ground
Salt
1 tablespoon sugar
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pound spaghetti
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, peeled
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup dry Marsala
A handful of lightly toasted slivered almonds

In a medium-size sauté pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium flame. Add the bread crumbs, and season with a pinch of salt. Sauté until lightly golden and crisp. Pull the pan from the heat, and add the sugar and the cinnamon, stirring them in to the breadcrumbs.

Set up a large pot of pasta cooking water, and bring it to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt, and drop in the spaghetti.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the butter over low heat. Add the garlic, and sauté slowly, just until it turns lightly golden, about 4 minutes. Add the Marsala, and let it boil for about a minute, leaving some liquid in the skillet. Take out the garlic.

When the spaghetti is al dente, drain it, leaving some water clinging to its strands, and add it to the skillet, along with the almonds. Toss gently over low heat until the spaghetti is well coated with the garlic oil. Add salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, and add more olive oil if needed to coat the pasta.

Pour the spaghetti into a warmed large serving bowl. Sprinkle on the bread crumbs, and give it all a gentle toss. Serve right away.

Dining with the Saints is written by Erica De  Mane. This will be a regular feature of this blog. Erica is the author of several books on Italian cooking. She also has an Italian cooking blog at http://www.ericademane.com