Christmas recipes. La cuccìa

La Cuccìa

Level: medium

Prep time: 20 minutes - 120 minutes cooking

Method: boiling

Yields 5 servings

Ingredients

150 g wheat germ

300 g sheep’s milk ricotta

150 g sugar

100 g zuccata (candied white pumpkin)

100 g dark chocolate

Powdered cinnamon

Method

Sort the wheat germ removing any odd bits, rinse and soak in cold water for at least two days. Drain, place in a saucepan and cover with approximately two liters of water. Bring the water to a boil, lower the heat to low and cook for two hours, until tender. Drain and spread on a clean cloth to dry perfectly, then collect in a bowl. Push the ricotta through a fine mesh strainer, add the sugar and 1/2  tsp of cinnamon and blend with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy.

Cube the pumpkin, reserving a small piece, and the flake the chocolate. Incorporate with the cooked wheat and with the ricotta cream. Arrange the cuccìa in a bowl and decorate the surface with the rest of the pumpkin cut into strips and with a sprinkling of cinnamon. Refrigerate. This simple family dessert is traditionally prepared on December 13, the feast of Saint Lucia. On that day, hundreds of years ago, a ship loaded with wheat arrived in the port of Palermo and saved the citizens from starvation, who had been suffering the hardship of a long famine.