As Aleteia readers may know, Sicilian monasteries and nunneries have been hotspots for dessert creation throughout the centuries. Each of the many convents that dotted Italy’s largest island invented and preserved many beloved treats, from the almond-paste tarts of Martorana nuns to the cassatelle — semi-circular dough pockets filled with ricotta – of the convent of Badia Nuova.
After World War II, many of these centuries-old convents closed down and the recipes transmitted from one generation of nuns to the next were at risk of being lost. Desserts like cassatelle, however, have become such an intrinsic part of Sicilian life and gastronomy that locals stepped in to preserve this Catholic gastronomic heritage.
Most of these culinary preservation efforts have taken place in Palermo, Sicily’s capital city, but one of the most active conservation spots for monastic baking recipes is found in the hilltop town of Erice.
This stunning medieval village overlooks the Mediterranean sea and is famous for its ancient ruins dating back to the 6th century BC.
Here, Maria Grammatico runs a bakery specialized in “genovesi,” a kind of semolina-flour based short pastry topped with powdered sugar and flavoured with lemon zest.
The recipe for genovesi was born inside the Convent of St. Charles in Erice where for centuries cloistered nuns worked in the kitchen to turn local ingredients like almonds, honey, and lemon into delicious baked goods.
As chronicled in the book Bitter Amonds, these recipes were kept rather secret. Hardly any written evidence of the recipes was produced, with nuns transmitting the recipes orally from one generation to the next.
When Maria Gramatico, a local woman raised by nuns of the St. Charles convent, was a little girl, she was fascinated by the delicacies produced in the convent’s kitchen. Gramatico spent hours each day helping the nuns bake treats, peeling and crushing almonds into a powder that could be used for baking. Throughout the years, she learned how to craft the perfect “genovesi” according to the centuries-old recipe of the convent.
Today, she runs two bakeries, a cafe and a food laboratory offering cooking classes. Her specialty? The nun-invented genovesi treats, baked according to a secret recipe that she had learned in the convent of St. Charles.
“My dream has always been to pass on my tradition and teach what I have learned from my experience,” Gramatico explains on her website.
For those who may not visit Sicily any time soon, don’t despair. Gramatico’s bakery offers shipping both in Italy and abroad. For those daring to try their own version of genovesi, here is the recipe:
Ingredients
1.5 cup of durum wheat flour
1.5 cup of 00 type flour
1 and ¼ g of sugar
1 and ¼ cup of butter or margarine
4 egg yolks
a few spoonfuls of cold water.
For the cream
2 egg yolks
¾ cup g of sugar
3 tablespoons wheat or corn starch
2 cups of milk
grated peel of half a lemon
Directions
- Mix flour and sugar in a large bowl. Add butter, mix until grainy. Incorporate egg yolks one at a time, add water to form a compact dough. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare yellow cream filling.
- Beat egg yolks with sugar. Dissolve starch in half a glass of milk, add to remaining milk and mix well. Slowly pour into a pan with egg yolks, beating well. Cook on low heat, stirring continuously, for 10-12 minutes until thick. Stir in grated lemon peel. Pour into a bowl, cover with cling film, and refrigerate until cool.
- Preheat oven to 430° C.
- Make one inch wide dough sticks. Cut into 4 inch long pieces, roll out to form rectangles. Place two tablespoons of cream on half of each rectangle, fold over, and press edges. Cut into circles with a round cutter. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes until lightly browned. Transfer to rack and sprinkle with icing sugar. The genovesi are ready to be served!
#/media/File:Genovesi_di_Erice.jpg){kind=link}
