U pitirri (History, recipe and preparation) obviously from Cammarata and San Giovanni Gemini

Have you ever heard of "Pitirri"? It is a widespread dish especially in the Sicilian hinterland, between the province of Agrigento and Caltanissetta, which encloses the "Parco dei Monti Sicani", where the excellent high quality ricotta of Cammarata and San Giovanni Gemini is produced and many others. excellent cheeses and meats that not everyone in Italy knows.

What is it?

U pitirri looks a bit like polenta, but from a distance, the base is a preparation of durum wheat semolina flour and wild fennel (which is found directly on site at least twice a year) which were thrown into abundant water and salt. And all this is nothing but “arriminato” mixed until cooked, but we get to the real recipe later.

History

Anthropologists on Sicilian cuisine write that, being a poor soup, it refers to the tradition of spelled of Roman heritage. It is said that it was probably imported from Africa at that time. It is a semolina, like couscous, but unlike it it is cooked together with the sauce from the Arab tradition.

Where can you try?

Perhaps the only opportunity to try this delight is the Cammarata nativity scene, (we are not sure but that is good) but at least here it is for the Christmas period.

More information on the nativity scene that we recommend to visit ... https://www.unamontagnadieccenze.com/presepe-vivente-cammarata

Let's go to the recipe ...

The ingredients for 8 people

1 kg of durum wheat semolina flour

water

5 eggs

Salt to taste.

wild fennel (there must be

vegetables of your choice (if you want)

Oil and spices at the end of cooking

How you do it

Start by kneading the flour and eggs (one at a time), so as to form large lumps. After mixing everything, pass it through a coarse sieve in order to obtain smaller grains of dough and let it fall into a clean cloth.

As soon as the fennel that has been put to boil before (because it takes at least an hour) is already well cooked and finely cut, you can gradually insert the sifted dough. The mastery lies in getting to the right consistency, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, being careful not to form lumps.

Once ready, you can serve it more liquid like soup or continue cooking it so it is thicker. Before serving, you can add a drizzle of oil of the good olive oil and a sprinkling of pepper that always suits us.

And if something remains, the dough will become hard and you can shape it a bit and then cut it into rectangles and fry it, it is an excellent alternative for a tasty second course.

Enjoy your meal

Text: unamontagnadieccenze.com