A carnevale ogni scherzo vale, Italians celebrate Carnevale just before Easter.
It is a tradition that even I as a little boy liked to be part of.
I used to dress up as the super hero of the moment or a cowboy or prince charming or even arlecchino. Looking back at some photos I saw my self wearing a Pierrot costume, I was only a few months old I was not in any position to complain or rip the damn thing off.
As I grew up the games we played got funnier and also rougher. We used to buy The Flinstone sized bastone, a huge plastic-rubbery club that did not hurt but would become annoying if continually bashed with it.
Our gang, made up of scugnizzos like me was the gang to cause more harmless fun than any other, and every single store, deli, or butcher shop would always pay homage to this small gang with fun offerings.
The day was spent fun fighting, throwing eggs and flour and abuse every one that we disliked, then would be back to liking everybody the following day.
Then there was the traditional food at Carnevale, le polpette di carne nel sugo, Le lasagne e per dolce il mitico migliaccio.
It is 2020 and that tradition is still very vivid in our lives as my mum makes sure that we or our children her grandchildren learn and nurture these beautiful cultural experiences that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Il Migliaccio di mamma
Ingredients
1 litre of milk
125gr of fine semolina
80gr unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
Seeds scraped from a ½ vanilla bean
350gr of ricotta
A pinch of salt
A nip of Strega
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
5 eggs
350gr caster sugar
Method
Place a saucepan large enough to accommodate the milk, the butter the sugar and the salt on a low flame and bring to a gentle simmer, slowly pour the semolina in a stream and mix well cook for a few minutes.
Beat the eggs with a touch of strega or Galliano and combine well, once the cooked mixture has cooled down completely.
Bake in a preheat oven at 170 degrees c. for about 45 minutes
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