Irmana but also Jermanella, Immanu, Immana, Irmanu so many names for how long the story of this one is variety of rye grown on the slopes of Etna, although unknown to most to the point that it was compartmentalizing. Yet, this cereal used as food since the Bronze Age has very ancient roots and boasts many beneficial properties. A study by the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Catania attests that the glycemic index of rye bread, thanks to the extraordinary richness in dietary fibers, it is lower than that of other breads, playing a favorable role in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, obesity and cancer. Just as it proves to be valuable for the control and reduction of blood cholesterol as well as being rich in minerals and vitamins.
The cultivation of Irmana in Sicily was introduced in the XNUMXth century, the Benedictine monks Bretons founders of the monastery of San Nicola l'Arena in that of Catania. This rye has acclimatised well in the Etna area, spreading mainly on the southern slopes of Etna due to its ability to resist extreme cold and to know how to survive, even in acidic, sandy or lean soils. A real providence for the poorest strata of the population who used it to prepare a typical dark bread called "black bread of Immanu", which formed the basis of their diet especially during periods of famine. To get to more recent times, it is good to remember that rye bread was a primary source of livelihood during the last world war when wheat was scarce. Despite its noble history, however, slowly povertyin Irmana it ended up being abandoned.
Fortunately it has recently been redeemed by some local farmers, especially by the Serafica family, who they returned to cultivate it on Etna, thus recovering a truly precious tradition and above all an important testimony of biodiversity in an area, that of Etna which is a real agri-food laboratory.
There is a lot of talk about biodiversity these days, perhaps because we have noticed that since the beginning of the 70th century about XNUMX% of the genetic variability of agricultural crops has disappeared which had been preserved for centuries in our countryside as they were no longer considered to meet the needs of modern intensive agriculture. However, the consequences of this culture of profit are heavily coming to light. Recovering what is still recoverable today responds not only to an environmental, health, and economic need, nhe sense of creating new market values in which to engage the younger generations and block the exodus from the countryside is above all equivalent to guarantee a historical and gastronomic identity of the territory and highlighting the value and originality of its biodiversity which in perspective can bear many fruits.
It is therefore necessary to look at these forgotten products with new eyes in order to give them a new future. From this point of view, one can only express gratitude to the enlightened entrepreneurs and chefs who have set out in this wake. One of these it definitely is Luca Miuccio, born in 1987 Executive chef of the five-star luxury Grand Hotel San Pietro "Preferredd Hotel" in Taormina.
Miuccio one of the 10 Ambassadors of Sicilian taste, he started from the professional hotel institute of Giarre to arrive at important kitchens, including starred restaurants and structures with the Relais & Château brand to then perfect his training with various experiences abroad in England and Switzerland to give his cuisine a international scope. But despite working in sophisticated Italian and international environments, he has always remained a lot anchored to the colours, scents and flavors of the products of the land where he was born and raised, to the flavors of his Sicilian childhood with its wonderful places and its agricultural and food treasures.
“My goal – he says – has always been to create one style of cooking which, although born from memory, from maintaining the peculiarities of the raw materials and from respect for tradition, gave life to achievements and new combinations, rich in contrasts and textures”.
The dish proposed by the Sicilian chef for Christmas and the end of the year is the most convinced affirmation of this culinary philosophy. With the recovery of Irmana which from poor and almost abandoned food is relaunched into a fine dining cuisine for an international audience, demonstrating its gastronomic potential.
"The recipe - says the Chef - wants to enclose my vision of contemporary cuisine, keeping faith with the raw material that our land offers and following up on a project, married a few years ago, for the recovery of this ancient grain "irman rye" grown on Etna at 1200mt”. There's no denying: Chapeau!
The recipe for Irmanu rye tortello filled with fermented Giarratana spring onion, lemon bottargas and mullet broth
Ingredients for 10 pax
For the pastry
300 g of semolina flour
200 g Irmanu rye flour
5 yolks
2 eggs
semolina for dusting
For the stuffing
400 g of Fermented Giarratana onion
To taste marjoram
To taste Lemon
For the broth
2 lt of water
600 g Mullet carcasses from the Ionian Sea
200 g of mirepoix
100 g Tomato extract
herbs to taste (laurel, marjoram)
For the garnishes
20 g of tuna roe
1 lemon
Fresh marjoram
Preparation
For the broth. Thoroughly wash the mullet carcasses after which we place it in a large saucepan and cover it completely with water. Add the mirepoix, extract, salt and pepper (preferably in grains) to the pot. Bring to the boil and when it starts boiling, lower the heat slightly and let it cook for an hour over medium heat without ever starting the boil. Turn off the heat, remove the carcasses and mullet and the vegetables and leave the broth to cool for a night in the fridge. In this way all the fat released during cooking will rise to the surface and thicken, so we could easily remove it with the help of a slotted spoon
Prepare the pastry, separate the yolks, weigh the flour and mix all the ingredients together, as soon as we obtain a uniform dough, place it in a vacuum bag for half an hour.
Stuffed. We ferment the small size onions in a fermenter or a controlled temperature chamber at 60°, checking from time to time (but the times can be shortened by finding already fermented onions on the market). Once cooked they are peeled and passed to the cutter adding a little marjoram and lemon zest. Store in the fridge until use.
Roll out the dough very thin, if you roll it out with the machine, get to the penultimate notch. Cut into squares, mine are 6×6 and arrange a filling cherry in the center Fold over into a triangle and seal the edges by pressing them together with your fingertips, if the dough is too dry it would be better to slightly moisten the edges with a drop of 'waterfall
Place the filling on one half of the pastry, fold one edge over and turn over the other, then lightly flatten the filling. Wrap the tortello around your forefinger and overlap the ends, squeezing them until they are sealed
Plate finish
Cook the tortelli in plenty of salted water, arrange them in a deep dish and pour over the hot broth, garnish with bottarga, lemon zest and marjoram leaves.
Grand Hotel San Pietro
Via Pirandello, 50 Taormina
+390942620711
