Among the Salento sweets par excellence there is a dessert with a "sacred" flavor, which changes its shape according to the feast: a lamb for Easter, a fish for Christmas, both symbols of the Christian tradition, made with almond paste.
The origins of the dessert are ancient and handed down by the cloistered nuns of the Benedictine monastery who prepared it for bishops, prelates or influential personalities. Also known as the "sweet of the lords", the idea matured precisely in the female convents of southern Italy at the end of the 700th century, in the middle of the Baroque age, influenced by the presence of many religious orders of Hispanic origin.
The Cronache Leccesi by FA Piccinni of 1738 report that on the occasion of the Veiling of that year the nuns made rich people present to the ladies and knights, as well as to the canons and to the whole episcopal community and "returned to the Bishop forty rolls of sugar loaves and other desserts".
In the meticulous diaries of La Speziala the following are noted: amendole, barchiglie,cartellate, murfettate, bocconotti, copeta and so on.
Some attribute the invention of almond paste to the nun Anna Fumarola, a Benedictine from the monastery of San Giovanni Evangelista in Lecce. Others, on the other hand, believe that the creation of almond paste dates back to Arab cuisine, while others still attribute the merit to the Etruscans and Romans.
Despite the debate over provenance, the original recipe is still kept by the Benedictines of Lecce, where the best almond paste fish or lamb of the city are packaged, using only genuine and simple products without preservatives. Features that make it famous also internationally and for this reason it must be booked in advance. The delivery of the dessert, together with the payment, still takes place through the legendary "wheel" of the exhibits, the meeting point between two worlds and which in ancient times was used to leave unwanted newborns in the monastery.
The pastry technique of the Benedictine nuns follows the rule of the order of Saint Benedict: "Idleness is the enemy of the soul, and therefore the brothers must in certain hours deal with manual work, and in other hours, which are also well fixed, in the study of divine things.” In fact, manual work constitutes a fundamental aspect of their spirituality, with which the nuns preserve the ancient methods of processing almond paste, rich in symbolic meanings. At the time there wasn't a Salento house that didn't dedicate itself to the cooking of almond paste sweets for the holidays, while today they can be found in all the pastry shops in the area.
A mixture of almonds and sugar with a filling rich in jam, dark chocolate, candied fruit and a fagliacchiera which is hidden in the belly of the fish or lamb making it even tastier and more succulent. It is a cream made from beaten egg yolks and sugar and cooked in a bain-marie over low heat, but due to its easy perishability, it is no longer used much. The idea of this cream was already widespread in convents, even before almond paste. The known recipe, however, is more recent and dates back to Vincenzo Corrado, a Benedictine monk originally from Salento, cook and believer in the court tour of the Bourbons in the 700th century.
THE RECIPE OF LAMB OR ALMOND PASTE
Due to the current health emergency we are experiencing and given the impossibility of going out, except for emergency reasons, you can try to recreate this dessert in your own home. All it takes is a good deal of patience and the right ingredients.
First&Food proposes the authentic preparation of almond paste. The secret? It is in the proportions: 1 kg of almonds for 800 grams of sugar. Crucial is the choice of almonds: they must be of the “Filippo Cea” cultivar, grown from Bari to Capo di Santa Maria di Leuca. This is because, if Californian, Turkish or Sicilian almonds are used, there is a risk of obtaining a flour that is too "fat", as these almonds are rich in oil. Furthermore, in some pastry shops to speed up preparation times, the marzipan is made raw. A completely different result from the original which, instead, requires cooked pasta.
Once you have the dried almonds, you have to immerse them for at least an hour in warm water, peel and then leave them to dry on a linen cloth. Then they are ground in a common "milletta", making sure that the flour obtained is not too fine. From here begins the preparation of the almond paste which must be boiled and not raw.
Pour the sugar into a fairly large saucepan, add a little water and mix until a thick syrup is obtained. Then turn on the stove and pour the almond flour into the syrup, stirring constantly with a whisk. As the mixture thickens, continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the pasta has the consistency of polenta. Then remove from the stove and let it cool. This step is essential to mix the almond granules without crushing them, thanks to the binder made up of sugar syrup and essential oils.
After about an hour, divide the dough into portions and roll it out with a rolling pin on a surface that does not create adhesions. Line the plaster, glass or terracotta molds with these half-centimetre-thick sheets, taking care to spread a transparent food-safe sheet between the inner surface of the mold and this first layer of dough.
At this point we dedicate ourselves to the filling. To follow the tradition of the nuns of the Baroque age, add a teaspoon of faldacchiera to the layer of pear jam. Otherwise you can vary and soak the sponge cake in a sweet “Benedictine” style liqueur, in the following order: a veil of sponge cake, a spread of pear jam, a portion of toasted and ground almonds, lemon zest, a last veil of sponge cake and close with the last sheet of almond paste. Make sure that the latter is welded with the former and gently turn the mold upside down directly on the serving plate and remove the transparent sheet, eliminating the excess dough with a knife. The latter can be used for decoration, placing it in a pastry bag and decorating the cake by recreating the effect of lamb's wool. Then proceed with the color decoration: for amber or dark colors use different degrees of expansion in alcohol or chocolate powder liqueur; for orange, yellow or vermilion colors use saffron or alkermes. Finally, sprinkle the cake with granulated sugar, not icing sugar. At this point, your lamb is ready to be served.
PS: Even the cloistered nuns have equipped themselves in the current times, the dessert can also be requested by mail by booking well in advance.
