Cuisine

Celle and Faeto's cuisine are not made with rich and elaborated foods. The same ingredients were always used: flour, eggs, oil, vegetables, cereals, pulses and pork. Due to difficulties in communication and the impossibility to conserve food, our ancestors must be independent from the outside village and ate what they can make them selves.

Bread was the base of their nourishment; as our ancestors always had bread on their tables. The typical form of bread of this area is still today a huge bread. Because bread was very important but they can not make it everyday, a huge form could last a family for about a week.

Also pasta was very important in the daily cuisine because it was easy and fast to make. Typical kinds of pasta in Celle and Faeto are: Cicatielli, Cavatelli, Tagliatelle, Orecchiette...

Food was conserved with the use salt, oil, and garlic. This was useful during winter time!

Killing a pig was an important event and tradition. One pig had enough meat to last for a year. Even the inside organs and blood were eaten. Pig was the most important animal since it can be feed with almost everything and you can eat most of its body.

People used the eggs from chickens and goats were used for milk and wool. Fish and cow’s meat were quite unusual in their cuisine.
People drank red wine and water. Alcohol gave our ancestors energy to spend on their daily work.

Our ancestors's life was based on agriculture. Land was the most important thing for a family. But what they did cultivate? In most of the cases they had pulses vegetables, grains, tomatoes, cucumbers, oregano and salad.

Today their nourishment is still based on bread, pasta and pig even if there are more ingredients, new recipes and new foods...

Example of our ancestors's nourishment

BREAKFAST
Bread / Focacce
Bacon / Pulses
Red wine

LUNCH
Bread
Pasta / Polenta
Pulses / Cereals / Vegetables / Sausages
Red Wine

DINNER
Bread
Pasta / Polenta
Pulses / Cereals / Vegetables / Sausages
Red wine

There were also some typical recipes of a period or a season:
For the traditionals recipes I want to thank Stefania Cavoto and Alfredo Crisafulli.

WINTER TIME

Le lavanèlle do lu sànghe
This recipe was prepared immediately after the pig's killing. They made a cream with blood, sugar, wine, raisins. Then some organs were stuffed with this cream and they were left boiling in hot water. In the same water were then prepared the Tagliatelle. This dish could be hot or cold.


Lu suffrìtte
The same day of the pig's killing, they prepared this recipe. Lung and liver were cut and mixed with tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and vinegar. They added salt an laurel and let it cooks into pig's fat.

Lo cautièlle
With the juice that remained from the previous recipes, they took bread and wet it with the juice.

Lo strùsce
Typical of Carneval period, this recipe was prepared with sugar, flour and eggs. They made little balls with the kneaded and then seasoned with honey.

Le pèttele
Typical of Christmas day, this recipe was prepared by raised on kneaded dough then seasoned with sugar or honey./p>

SPRING TIME

Lo peccelattièlle
Typical of the Easter Period, this recipe was prepared with flour, water, olive oil, salt and fennel. They made the typical Taralli's shape and let them cook in the oven

About today…
The main product of Faeto is the “Prosciutto crudo”. For this reason we can find here two sausage factories: Moreno and De Luca. Ciro Moreno has developed a biological breeding pf pigs outside Faeto and he’s taking care of the quality of his products using the traditional dark pig of these mountains. They make not only the traditional Prosciutto but also all the other traditional pork products such as sausages, bacon, salami, etc… De Luca makes prociutto as well but they don’t use the dark pig.

Bread's photo powered by Silvano Tangi