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| ITALIAN RECIPES TRADITIONAL AND CREATIVE Recipe with pictures: Pastiera Napoletana (grain pie), Italian traditional recipe of Naples for EasterA sweet rich of perfumes and tastes and also of...calories. Traditionally is prepared on Maundy Thursday, as by resting it becomes better, if you resist... For explaining the origin of Pastiera the Neapolitans created a beautiful tale, which resumes in itself a great symbolic value: once upon the time, when people was more inclinable to ear other people, it seems that once at year a mermaid called Partenope used come and visit the bay of Posillipo, singing beautiful melodies for its habitants. Grateful for her song they decided to offer to Partenope the most precious goods they had. So they sent seven virgins to collect the gifts and, at the end, they came back with: flour and wheat, the gifts of the Earth; eggs, symbol of the regeneration of life; the ricotta, offered by the shepherds and symbol of the alliance between man and animals; the water of orange tree flowers for its suave smell (Partenope is always a woman...); the spices for representing the voyagers and, at the end, the sugar, for the sweetness of her song. Partenope liked the gifts took them and dove into the sea for laying at the Gods feet. They, delighted, began with kneading the ingredients... and in this manner the Pastiera was born: simply divine!
Timetable
Notes to the recipe: we do not suggest to cook the grain kernels at home. For making it well you should cook them during 2 days continually! Use the canned grain kernels, available in an Italian deli or also in many superstores inside the EU. But, should you do not find the wheat kernels, you can use either the spelt or the pearl barley. In this case soak for one night and boil 45 minutes the spelt, while for the pearl barley 30 minutes will be enough. We have also used the fructose instead the sugar. In fact many Italian traditional recipes have a great quantity of sugar. By using the fructose you can use less and save calories and glucose...Of course you can use the sugar for having the old recipe as shown in the table here above.
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