Today December 13th, it is Santa Lucia, Saint Lucy who was a young Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Prosecutions.
Lucy's Latin name Lucia shares a root (luc-) with the Latin word for light, lux. This has played a large part of Saint Lucy being named as the patron saint of the blind and those with eye-trouble. The relics of Saint Lucia rest in my Venice after they have been moved and stoled many times in history.
They rest now safely in the Church of Saint Geremia in the sestiere of Cannaregio. They were transferred there when the church of Santa Lucia was demolished in 1861 to make way for the new railway terminal. The train station in Venice is for that called Santa Lucia.
It
is said, between history and legend, that around the seventeenth century the
Sicialian people were hit by a severe food shortage when a ship arrived in
Palermo bearing wheat and grains on Santa Lucia’s Day, December 13th. There was
not time to make flower and they started to eat it as it was: in it’s grain
form.
To
this day in Sicily people eat a variety of dishes made with wheat berries or
barley that is called Cuccìa. The word itself is Sicilian and means crock or grain. So on this day Cuccìa is the only wheat eaten… no bread
or pasta.
Cuccìa
is typically made with wheat berries or barley and it is
prepared differently from family to family and regions. Some make Cuccìa as soup, others
as a pudding.
This
tradition is especially celebrated in the Sicilian city of Palermo, and also in
Syracuse where Santa Lucia was born.
You
can vary the recipe as Sicilian do. Everyone tweaks it to their own taste.
Here
below you can find the family recipe as I have learned to make it from my dear
friend from Palermo, Angela.
Ingredient:
1lb Barley
½ lb dark chocolate
2 and ½ ounces of bitter cocoa powder
4 spoons of sugar
1 quarter of a gallon of milk
3 and half ounces of heavy cream
Preparation:
Put the barley in a large bowl, cover with water and let it sit
for 1 hour. Rinse it and pour it into a saucepan, cover with cold water. When
the water starts to boil, leave it to cook for 1 hour.
Drain and allow it to cool.
Pour the milk, the bitter cocoa and dark chocolate and the sugar
in a saucepan, and stir with a whisk, on low heat until the chocolate does melt
completely. Finally add heavy cream an cook for another 10 min, till warm.
Add the barley to the milk and chocolate, stir
it.
The Cuccìa is ready. Let it cool in
the refrigerator and serve the Cuccìa preferably
in individual bowls.
From Venice with Love,
Giada
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