The Christmas episode of “Il Gusto della Salute” is dedicated to pìttola, gastronomic delicacy on the eve of the Festival. “The interpretation of the immortal verses of a nursery rhyme in Salento dialect by the poet Franco Lupo opens the episode to allow not only to explain the characteristics of the pìttola but also the tradition that generated it and inserted it into the collective imagination of the populations of Southern Italy “. Has explained Mauro Minelli, immunologist and head of the Foundation for Personalized Medicine for Southern Italy, who edited the column.
But what is the cultural perimeter that defines the pìittola? “Yes – comments Minelli – of irregularly shaped pieces of flour but more often round to rise and fry in boiling oil, so as to extract delicious pancakes possibly to be seasoned or stuffed with tomatoes, vegetables, olives and pizzaiola. The legend ( or the legends) has it that in the past a housewife, intent on preparing a leavened dough to make bread at home, was distracted by the sound of bagpipers playing in the street on the day of Santa Cecilia. Coming out of the house to enjoy the music, the woman after a long time he returned to find the dough useless for bread. He decided to use it by frying it in oil in small balls. The result was scones that had an incredible success not only among his children, but also in the neighborhood, among friends, relatives and the bagpipers themselves. This product – he continues – born by chance as often happens in the kitchen, was given the name of pìttola, diminutive of pitta, typical denomination of a focaccia produced in many regions of the South. There are other legends but what matters is that the pìttola represents the distinctive feature of the winter festivals, from San Martino to Santa Cecilia to Taranto, from the Immaculate Conception to Christmas Eve “.
The task of illustrating the health characteristics or contraindications is, as always, entrusted to nutrition biologists of the Polismail Dominga Maio and Ilaria Vergallo network. This time, however, we find them in the kitchen engaged in the preparation of pìttole. Half a kilo of flour, water and yeast and a pinch of salt and the pìttole dough is ready to be made into small pieces or balls and thrown into the oil for frying, to obtain warm and soft clouds with an exquisitely Christmas flavor. “Be careful not to abuse, quantity is always important, especially in this case as it is frying – the nutritionists clarify – even if it is possible to overcome the problem by using a better oil; and to facilitate digestibility, use a richer type 1 flour On the intolerance front, on the other hand, the use of mother yeast can help “, underline the biologists.
“The episode ends in a light and goliardic way, with the pìttole prepared by the biologists and served hot to be tasted and submitted for judgment by the editorial staff of ‘Il Gusto della Salute’, obtaining a more than positive response in terms of taste and level culinary. A special thanks to the restaurant ‘La Locanda’ in Campi Salentina (Le) which hosted the video footage and to the technical staff led by Prof. Maurizio Madaro. Happy Holidays to all the friends who follow us “, concludes Minelli.