Cuccìa

Whole wheat grains boiled soft and folded through sweetened ricotta.

Not vegetarian — contains ricotta whose rennet the source does not name.

Ingredients

• 250 g whole wheat berries
• 500 g sheep's ricotta, drained 24 hours
• 150 g icing sugar
• 60 g candied squash or candied orange, diced
• 50 g dark chocolate, in small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

1. SOAK THE WHEAT BERRIES THREE DAYS in cold water, changing it each day. They are whole unhulled grains and no amount of boiling will soften them from dry — this is the step people shorten and then wonder why the dish is gritty.
2. Simmer them in fresh unsalted water for about 90 minutes until each grain is plump and splits when pressed.
3. Drain thoroughly and cool completely. Warm grains would slacken the ricotta to soup.
4. Beat the drained ricotta with the icing sugar, salt and cinnamon, and pass it through a sieve.
5. FOLD THE GRAINS THROUGH IT, do not stir hard. The grains stay whole and separate in the cream, and that texture is the dish — this is not a porridge.
6. Fold in the candied squash and chocolate, and chill 2 hours before serving in glasses.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes