La Festa di San Giuseppe NYC-Style
These traditional feast day recipes were contributed by Italian-American
families;
some have emphasized that these portions were meant to serve "a crowd" --
not a couple of friends.
Cavazune
Cookie Dough:
Filling:
2 Eggs
1 lb. Chick Peas
1/4 Tsp. Salt
2 Cups of Walnuts
1/2 Cup Sugar 8 ozs.
Seedless Raisins
1/2 Cup Oil
1/4 Cup Honey (or Molasses)
1 Tsp Vanilla 1/2 Cup
Sugar
3 1/2 Cups Flour 2 Tbs Jelly
(Grape)
1/4 Cup Cold Water 1 Tsp Cinnamon
Oil for Frying
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painting -
Beat eggs, salt sugar, oil, and vanilla together
and work in the flour and water alternately
keeping the mixture smooth until dough is stiff.
Work more flour into the dough on a baking board,
then wrap in waxed paper and put aside to chill
while you make the filling.
Cook chick peas & its liquid 20 minutes.
Chop the nuts finely; mix with remaining
ingredients. Drain peas, work through a
grinder (use processor or blender) until
smooth. Then mix with filling.
Divide the dough into quarters and roll out
one quarter at a time, very,very thin.
Cut dough in 3" squares.
Place a teaspoonful of filling on squares,
brush edges with beaten egg and water.
Fold into rectangles, pressing edges with fork to seal.
Heat oil to 350 degrees, fry cavezunes 2
to 2 1/2 minutes or until golden. Drain.
Sprinkle with confectioners sugar.
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painting -
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Fanelli Family Recipe: Cavazune
This recipe might make enough for an army,
because it came with a note to make 1/4
of what it calls for. These are actually a kind of calzoni.
Dough:
Filling:
7 lbs flour 4 lb ceci (chick peas)
8 eggs 2
cups honey
water 1
cup sugar
oil
1 tsp cinnamon oil (buy at a pharmacy)
salt
Make dough like pasta dough & roll out in a macaroni machine.
Proceed as usual for preparing calzoni.
______________________
I Sfinge di San Giuseppe
Sphinx Cream-puff shell:
1 cup pastry flour 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup butter 4 eggs
1 cup water grated
orange peel
salt
grated lemon peel
Filling:
1 lb. ricotta 2 tablespoons
sugar
orange peel 2 tablespoons
chocolate
generous dash of creme de cacao
Puff pastry shell:
Combine flour, butter, water, salt, and
sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Cook and stir until the mass leaves the
side of the pan. Add eggs one at a time,
beating well after each addition.
Add a little grated orange & lemon peel.
Drop by tablespoon on a baking sheet;
bake at 400 degrees F. for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees F. for another 25 minutes.
Cream Filling:
Stir until smooth: ricotta, chocolate, sugar,
a little grated orange peel, and a generous
dash of creme de cacao.
Fill puffs when they have
cooled.
____________________________________
Mamma Giglio's Recipe: Pasta di San Giuse
Traditional breadcrumb-covered pasta is as
important as desserts for this special feast day.
Mamma Giglio made it annually for her family.
St. Joseph's sauce:
Heat 2 T. olive oil in large pot.
Saute 5 cloves of chopped garlic + a pinch
of red pepper flakes. Add 2 cups chopped fresh
fennel. Add 2 cups crushed tomatoes and
2 T. paste, 1 T. chopped fresh basil.
Cover and let simmer 30 minutes until fennel is
very tender. Then add 4 cans of drained, skinless,
and boneless sardines. Simmer just a few more minutes.
Topping:
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Add 1 cup fine breadcrumbs (homemade or fresh from a
bakery, not pre-packaged such as Colonna's).
Cook over low heat until golden brown.
Cook pasta, top with sauce, then sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
[Mamma Giglio died near Valentine's Day 1998.
Her loved ones submitted her recipe and it's here
as a tribute in honor of
Mamma.]
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A special dessert made in Bologna
for this feast is "Ravioli di San Giuseppe."
Made in the same way as other dumplings
but with puff paste or short crust, they are
filled either with marzipan or some kind of
jam, and either baked in the oven or fried
in oil to a rich golden color.
In Naples "zeppole" or cream fritters are
traditional. Again in Italy, little cakes filled
with jam are hawked at street corners on
Saint Joseph's Day. Sold right from the
kettles in which they're cooked, they can make the
whole city smell like one vast
bakeshop.
____________________________________
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