According to legend, Saint Lucy (somehow the Italian Santa Lucia sounds more saintly) brought wheat to the Sicilians. To commemorate this act, cuccia is eaten instead of bread on St Lucy's Day, 13th December. It is a thick soup made with wheat grains or spelt, which can take up to four hours to cook after soaking, broad beans (US: fava beans) and chickpeas (US: garbanzo beans). In Isnello, in Palermo wheat grains are soaked overnight and then simmered until tender. Milk is then heated with cornflour (US: corn starch), lemon zest and chocolate, added to wheat mixture and crystallised citron and served as a sort of porridge on the morning of St Lucy's Day. It may also be soaked and cooked wheat grains with ricotta and crystallised fruits (US: candied fruits) and with vin cotto. Apicius recorded a similar dish under the name of apothermum.
A biscuit or cake, rather like panforte, from Palermo made with dried figs, minced and pressed with raisins, hazelnuts, chocolate and almond cream.
A traditionally huge, ring-shaped loaf cooked for the feast of San Giuseppe in Sicily, made smaller these days.
A Ligurian dish of fritters made with chickpeas (US: garbanzo beans) with cheese and pine nuts and often with potatoes.
A style of cooking from Sicily's aristocratic history, with a unique blend of Sicilian and French traditions.
