The Taste of Health is back, the scientific program curated by the immunologist Mauro Minelli, with a ‘pyrotechnic’ episode at the foot of the “fòcara”, the oldest bonfire in Italy and one of the largest in Europe, as every year built in Novoli, in the province of Lecce, on the occasion of the celebrations in honor of the patron saint.
In the coldest month of the year, when the expectation of spring becomes hot, while the piles of wood are burning and in the deep south the rite of fire is celebrated on the feast of Sant’Antonio Abate, the dishes of popular culture are staged , with whimsical and original names, with a delicate taste and decidedly healthy effects.
It is the ideal climate to honor a typically winter dish, with ingredients as “poor” as they are rich in nutritional properties which, cooked in terracotta pots and on a low heat, fill the days of those who have always been passionate about flavors with taste and warmth Mediterranean: we speak of broad beans and chicory, in the Apulian dialect known as “Fav e fogghie”, “Fae e foje”, “Fae nette e foje” or “Cicureddhe cu le fave”.
In the past those of the South were “parched” lands, crossed by long periods of drought also because they have always been poor in water sources. Legumes were sown to nitrogenize the fields, alternating them with the production of wheat which, until 1900, represented a precious commodity for the markets, especially in favor of the nobles and wealthy. The peasants and shepherds were left with only the leftovers, the broad beans which, not requested by the ‘gentlemen’ of the place, became their main daily food.
Chicory, with diuretic, anti-neuralgic and anti-inflammatory properties, were widely used in the kitchen thanks to the great availability of them in the Apulian countryside.
Since then, through a centuries-old tradition, beans and chicory have ended up becoming the dish that, in the collective imagination, most represents Puglia, recognized by the Region and by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry as a Traditional Agri-food Product.
To prepare this dish, with decidedly contrasting flavors, you need broad beans, a legume with a characteristic sweet taste, cooked for a long time until it becomes puree, and chicory, possibly wild, with a bitter taste, seasoned to perfection with a “cross of oil ” extra virgin olive oil.
All this and much more in the next episode of “???????? ???????????????????? ???????????????????? ????????????????????????”, in which the nutritional characteristics of this dish will be analyzed which, although simple, is a typical delight of Apulian cuisine linked to the agricultural culture that is reflected in the cultivation of legumes and some vegetables.
Appointment at ???????????? ????????, ???????? on Friday 21 January.
The Taste of Health is an event widespread on the social channels also of the time.news group and takes place under the aegis of the Foundation for Personalized Medicine.