Officially they would have been introduced in Sicily, at the time of Charles V, by the Spaniards who for two hundred years held possession of the kingdoms of Sicily and Naples. The etymology of the name already says a lot: 'mpanatigghi like empanadas or the empanadillas, pasta bundles filled with meat or vegetables typical of the Hispanic gastronomic tradition of Creole origin. But in Modica, we are in the heart of the Val di Noto, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, i Spanish dumplings have been transformed into sweets. And let's see why.
It is a story that goes back to the temple and to which many give credit for the pleasure that these stories have in popular beliefs to keep the tradition of the territory alive. It all revolves around the lent period when the church ordered the faithful and, a fortiori, the religious orders to observe the fast. In that time. many monks went around the various convents to preach and also to collect donations.
A lot of effort on an empty stomach was really heavy. We must calculate that we have always been in Sicily, a difficult land. The poor friars had to cross the countryside and mountains on foot or on the back of a mule and with fasting they lost their strength. And here the legend is cloaked in pitiful and charitable aspects. In fact, it is said that the nuns of a Benedictine monastery in Modica moved to pity by the efforts of the brothers, they thought it best to turn a blind eye to the religious precepts sneaking into a Lenten sweet made with almond paste, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and above all chocolate, also allowed during fasting because it is considered lean food, minced beef or game meat hidden inside and camouflaged. So that the Fraticelli, in moments of fatigue, could stop and eat these sweets, similar to small panzerotti, without arousing suspicions because the dough with the chocolate and the sugar sprinkled on top, hid the fact that they were filled with meat, drawing from it enough energy to travel from one country to another.
Brilliant idea undoubtedly that also has its so-called scientific reason. In ancient times it was customary, especially in Spain, to use cocoa and sugar as natural preservatives, to keep game overabundant for daily use longer. Then over time from game they moved on to beef.
The idea was so successful that even the nobles of Modica when they faced the long one journey to go to Palermo to the viceroy, they stocked up on 'mpanatigghi to use as a snack on the go, or as a snack while waiting for lunch or dinner. From this point of view the 'Mpanatigghi can be also considered the progenitors of the modern snack.
What is certain is that by tasting them, it is difficult to believe that that sweet, hyper-nourishing bundle of sugars also contains minced meat.
A tradition that still survives today, limited to the province of Ragusa, and you can well understand it since Modica is the home of the famous Modica chocolate, with a unique taste, which differs from the traditional one because it is cold worked, and not concated, whose origins date back to the Spanish domination of the fifteenth century, a tradition also derived from the South American populations and transmitted to the old continent by the Conquistadores.
And the butterfly… will take flight
Claudio Ruta, pure Ragusan, Michelin-starred chef, patron of the La Fenice restaurant, which he manages as a high priest of local cuisine, has created a recipe which, despite starting from tradition, offers a modern version of 'Mpanatigghi, making it an elegant and refined gourmet dish in the shape of a butterfly. A full-fledged dessert that will amaze everyone for being made with meat, but it will be difficult to notice. Surprise and success are assured.
Here is the recipe for "'Mpanatigghi my way"
Ingredients for the mousse
150 grams water at room temperature
85 grams defatted beef tenderloin
50 grams cocoa mass
50 grams dark chocolate 66%
35 grams lightly toasted and ground almonds
25 grams erythritol
15 grams raw cane sugar
12 grams Inulin
1 gram ground cinnamon sticks
1 gram ground cloves
Procedure for the mousse :
Cut the fillet of beef into strips and sear them in a pan without adding anything, making sure that the meat is cooked but not browned. Allow the meat to cool and only when it has cooled down grind it very finely until it crumbles.
First mixture: In a bowl mix the cane sugar, erythritol and inuin.
Second mix: In another bowl mix the crumbled meat, almonds, cinnamon and cloves.
In a bowl, combine the two chocolates and let them melt at 40°. Then add the first sugar mixture, stirring well, then add the second mixture with the meat and, still stirring, add the water, mixing everything well. Then place the bastardella in a container containing water and ice to cool. Stir vigorously until the mousse is very cold and compact
Ingredients for the dough
110 grams double zero flour W 230
20 grams of potato starch
28 grams of lard
15 grams of erythritol
15 grams of granulated sugar
35 grams of whole eggs
8 grams of inulin
20 grams of dry Marsala
20 g of water
salt up a pinch
Preparation
Mix all the ingredients together to form a ball, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest for 3 hours in the fridge. Then roll out the dough with a rolling pin and obtain butterfly wing shapes to be cooked in the oven at 150 degrees for 15 minutes on a sheet of silpat
Plating
Make a quenelle with the mousse and place it on a bed of diced fruit. Arrange three or four sheets of pasta like wings on the sides. Around it, put some prickly pear cactus cubes (but they can be replaced with a non-succulent pear) on which to place some pieces of Modica chocolate.
