Bugie di Carnevale
Bugie
di Carnevale
Carnevale
in Italy is a month
long public festival with more partying towards the
end of February.
Lent is book ended by Carnevale
and Pasquetta(little
Easter, always the day after Easter, big, all day,
outdoor BBQ with lots of wine!), two big parties of
eating rich foods and drinking.
One of
these rich foods is Bugie di
Carnevale, a
fried pastry sprinkled with sugar.
It is literally everywhere during the month of
February.
This is a recipe we got from our neighbor Pina. For
the past 2 years I have made these with her during
Carnevale.
Definition of Carnevale in Wikipedia
The Lenten period of the Liturgical
year Church calendar, being the six weeks directly
before Easter, was marked by fasting and other pious
or penetential practices. Traditionally during Lent,
no parties or other celebrations were held, and
people refrained from eating rich foods, such as
meat, dairy, fats and sugar. The forty days of Lent,
recalling the biblical account of the forty days that
Jesus spent in the wilderness, serve to mark an
annual time of turning. In the days before Lent, all
rich food and drink had to be disposed of. The
consumption of this, in a giant party that involved
the whole community, is thought to be the origin of
Carnival.
Carnival
is a festive season
which occurs immediately before Lent;
the main events are usually during February. Carnival
typically involves a public celebration
or parade
combining some elements
of a
circus, mask
and public street party. People often dress up
ormasquerade
during the
celebrations, which mark an overturning of daily
life.
Blood Orange Panna Cotta
Blood Orange Panna Cotta
After
years of complaining about restaurants adding flavors
to the classic panna cotta,
a northern Italian dessert that is literally “cooked
cream”,
this week I finally changed my mind and made a batch
of panna cotta with some blood oranges that are in
season right now.
The result was a fantastic mix of sweet cream and
citrus flavors with a drizzle of acacia honey.
I should of tried it sooner. If you want the
"classic" recipe, just omit the orange juice and
zest.