For centuries nicknamed the "meat of the poor" because in the impossibility of the less well-off social strata of the population, who certainly could not afford the rich libations of the nobility, they gave the right amount of protein - they contain, in the dry state, from 20 to 40% , a percentage almost double that of cereals and which is close to that of products of animal origin – legumes have fed and sustained millions and millions of people since the most remote times of antiquity. Easy to grow and cook, they have been providential not only for the plebs but also for the better-off classes to ensure survival in times of famine and drought.
Lentils were certainly the most common food in imperial Rome for feeding the people and slaves. The use was so widespread that the Romans had organized a thriving maritime trade from Egypt starting from 525 BC and exactly from the very ancient Pelusium on the Nile, where according to an ancient legend the brave Achilles was born, from which ships departed not only for Rome but also for Greece. And not just lentils, because legumes are one of the oldest crops in the Mediterranean basin with the exception of beans and peanuts which were brought to Europe from the Americas and soybeans, originally from the Far East. Remains of peas dating back to about seven thousand years before Christ have been found in Ukraine, lupins and lentils in Pharaonic tombs of the XII dynasty; for a dish of lentils Esau, as the Bible tells us, staked his birthright. The Egyptian priestly caste and the Greek Pythagorean school had elaborated an original theory on broad beans and all legumes that have two cothelidons, with the function of nutrition of the embryo during germination, which referred to the world of the dead and to esoteric practices: the union of the two cotyledons within a single involucre was considered as an element of complementarity between the external life (exoteric) and the hidden life (esoteric) and, in any case, of the continuity between life and death. At this point we can well understand why lupins and lentils were found in pharaonic tombs of the XII dynasty. What is certain is that Pliny exalted legumes for their high nutritional value and for the virtue of instilling peace of mind while Lucio Giunio Columella tribune in Syria in 34 AD, author of the treatise De re rustica, in twelve volumes underlined its values and properties. They were eaten raw, but also cooked: Cato advised dressing them with vinegar, or in preparations, a little more satisfying for the palate, of mixed legume soups in which a little pork fat left over from the processing of the meat for rich gave the illusion of delicious meals and flavours. But Columnella and Varrone went further because they discovered, even then, that the use of plants uprooted after the harvest, mixed with the soil, enriched the earth with important nutritional properties for sowing fields. Which became widespread and codified in the Middle Ages and is still practiced today.
The use of legumes in the kitchen - after centuries of honest service to humanity - was relegated to the poor tables of the peasants in the nineteenth century. But the redemption that gave new life to legumes came in the 70s with the discovery of the benefits of the Mediterranean diet which proposed a diet low in animal fats and rich in fibre, carbohydrates and vegetable proteins.
“Spelt, wheat, barley, brown rice, rye and amaranth on one side. Peas, chickpeas, lentils, broad beans on the other - reads a document from the Veronesi Foundation - put together, and seasoned with the right amount of extra virgin olive oil, make up a dish that satisfies and is good for the body, protecting it from onset of chronic diseases, cardiovascular and some forms of cancer. A mix of ingredients which, so complete, is not found in other food sources and allows, in the absence of pathologies, to resort to drugs and supplements".
In short, health first of all blossoms at the table because, in addition to the vitamins and various bioactive compounds contained in these foods, a good part of the merits can be ascribed tofibers which, despite not being digestible and having no nutritional value, increase the sense of satiety, regulate intestinal function, help keep blood sugar and cholesterol levels under control and maintain the balance of intestinal bacterial flora.
And therefore it seems evident that keeping ancient products of the countryside alive is not only a snobbish – cultural fact, but responds to a fundamental action of recovery of our food past, of our history and of the identity of the territory which must be absolutely safeguarded. FAO has deemed it appropriate to explicitly recognize that this historical memory, connected to current experiences of cultivation, has an important value also as an integral part of agro-biodiversity, because: "it is human activity that forms and preserves this biodiversity (FAO, 1999 ) and man is part of the biological world”.
This is why we propose you to rediscover one of the oldest, rarest and most forgotten Italian legumes, Maracuoccio di Lentiscosa, a small legume, similar to a pea but closer to cicerchia. The original strain is in fact a group of legumes belonging to the genus Lathyrus, that of the common cicerchia: specifically, the maracuoccio is identified in the Lathyrus cicera, domesticated between France and the Iberian Peninsula at the dawn of agriculture. The Maracuoccio has a square shape and a color that can vary from dark green to brownish to reddish, often mottled or marbled. The taste is generally a little bitter. Characteristic that emerges from the etymology of the name formed by the root "Mara" of Semitic origin which means bitter, and from the word "Cuoccio" of Greek derivation which means pod.
For centuries it has been cultivated in Lentiscosa, a hilly fraction of the municipality of Camerota, in the southern part of the Cilento National Park on the sunniest and most calcareous soils, as feed for livestock but also as a source of protein for the poorest populations or in periods of famine . Today its cultivation is restricted to just three hectares by six farming families, which are worth mentioning one by one for their meritorious action of preserving a gastronomic heritage of the territory Giuseppe Marotta, Località Pollareto tel. 347 5422409; Lorenzo Pacelli, Closing and Spinosa area tel. 333 2080883; Sandro Mattia Peluso, Località Infreschi and Pornia tel. 348 0975027; Domenico Caiazzo, Località Sammataro tel. 338 4386298; Domenico Cusati, Località Infreschi and Vaimonte tel. 347 6865817; Luca Cella Locality Furniciello Tel. 0974273451.
Maracuoccio stood literally disappearing from our memory and also from the face of Italy. If today we can still speak of the Maracuoccio it is because its cultivation has resisted over the centuries solely because it was handed down from father to son for family use. Because of this Slow Food ran to its aid, counting it as a garrison to be safeguarded and to be promoted also to offer job opportunities to the young people of the country.
Giorgio Iannuzzi, head of the Slow Food presidium of the area holds a specify that Maracuoccio is grown by hand and does not require the use of fertilizers, herbicides or other products. In November-December the soil is prepared and sown.
The seedlings that emerge remain very low, similar to those of chickpeas, producing a small pod, with multifaceted seeds inside with dimensions similar to peas but irregular and square in shape with different colors from green to reddish and with a slightly bitter taste.
At the end of June the seedlings are uprooted, placed on a cloth and beaten to bring out the seeds.
From the dried seeds flour is produced which is consumed in the form of polenta mixed with other types of flour. The proportion is two parts maracuoccio flour and two parts wheat flour, some also add small percentages of local legume flour.
This ancient legume is linked to a traditional local preparation: the Maracucciata, a polenta obtained by cooking a flour made up of half Maracuoccio and the other half wheat, chickpeas, spelt, field beans and grass peas. All enriched with extra virgin olive oil, croutons, onion, garlic and chilli pepper which transforms a simple dish into a delicacy with a perfect nutritional balance.
Maracuoccio is also an ingredient in another symbolic Cilento dish: cicci maritati or cuccia: a soup of different legumes that is prepared in the towns of Cilento on certain symbolic or propitiatory days (in early spring, May XNUMXst, All Souls' Day ).
Trattoria Pizzeria Maricucciata
Trieste waterfront 105
Marina di Camerota
0974 379612
0
Family-run restaurant on the seafront right in front of the sports field, Maricucciata is the realm of traditional local cuisine. The owner, Gaetano Belluccio, is one of the promoters of the rediscovery of Maracuoccio. In his restaurant Maracuoccio is served with various combinations ranging from cod to broccoli. Everything here is genuine, not artifact, and Belluccio prides himself on being able to serve customers Cilento specialties, many products are grown personally by him. Being in Marina di Camerota, the fish is obviously fresh. Also try the roasted anchovies and the 'mbuttunate aubergines.
Maracuocciata recipe
Ingredients
250 gr of wheat flour and maracuoccio
1 glass of extra virgin olive oil
1 onion
hot pepper
croutons
salt to taste
Method:
In a saucepan, boil the water with the salt, slowly add the maracuoccio flour and the wheat, keeping the flame low. Stir vigorously to prevent everything from sticking to the pan.
Fry the onion, croutons and hot pepper separately in the olive oil. Once the onion is golden, remove the pan from the heat.
When the flour polenta is cooked, add all the browned mixture to the pan and mix until the oil is completely absorbed.
Serve it piping hot with a spoonful of the oil left in the pan.
The recipe of Cicci maritati
Ingredients:
maracuocci, cannellini beans, borlotti beans, chickpeas, lentils, wheat, maize, extra virgin olive oil, tomato puree, garlic, parsley, chilli pepper, celery.
Method
After soaking legumes and cereals in separate bowls for at least 12 hours, cook everything for 4 hours in a saucepan with salted water. Then prepare a sautéed garlic, chopped parsley, celery and chilli pepper and add a little tomato puree. Cook for a few minutes, then transfer the sautéed vegetables into the pot of legumes, finish cooking, and serve with a slice of toasted bread and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
