Hello dear friends and readers of Buongiorno Italians.
We are on the eve of Christmas and the atmosphere is filled with this incredible magic around the world.
There is a great diversity of delicious traditional dishes that are prepared to celebrate the arrival of Jesus, especially in Italy, where in every region there is a specialty. Our Christmas tables are so rich that we need to pay attention to our diet!
In this regard, I thought about those times when our grandparents had few resources to celebrate these dates, especially after the Great War that left the countries involved in great poverty and forced thousands of Italians to leave their homes in search of a better future.
The nonnas used to tell us that during that period vegetables and legumes used to be the most eaten because they were economical and were given different uses: from the famous “ingrappiata” (mashed beans with chicory) to prepare coffee with chickpea beans.
During that difficult period, in the most economically deprived homes, the traditional ragù was made only with a piece of “lardo de maiale” bacon. In the coastal areas, as in our beloved Puglia, recipes were cooked with different tiny fish called “paranza” as the main ingredient. My grandmother told me that there were times when she could not even afford to buy the “paranza” and her mother, as well as other women of the village, went to the coast in search of stones. After washing them, they would cook them together with pomodoro sauce to give them the taste of the sea and fish. When her children would ask where the fish was, she would answer that it had escaped through the window and that was why they couldn’t find it on their plates.
This leads me to reflect that, beyond the commercial aspect of these dates, we must remember the real meaning of Christmas, which is the union of the family and spend unforgettable moments with them. The buongiorno Italians team wishes you very happy holidays!