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Cuccìa (Palermo wheat berries with sweet ricotta)
Boiled wheat berries folded into sweetened ricotta with candied orange and chocolate
On 13 December, the feast of Santa Lucia, Palermo stops eating bread and pasta for a day. The story goes that during a famine a ship of grain arrived on her feast day and people were too hungry to mill it, so they boiled the wheat whole; cuccìa remembers that. The berries are boiled until plump and chewy, then folded into sweetened sheep's ricotta with candied orange, chocolate and cinnamon, so it eats like a cannolo filling with a pleasant bite. Serve it chilled in bowls or glasses, on the day itself or any winter afternoon. Like most Sicilian ricotta sweets it is egg-free by nature: the thick, drained ricotta binds the wheat into a creamy pudding, with nothing to set. Some families make a savoury version with chickpeas and oil, too. Chef's tip: cool the wheat completely before it meets the ricotta; the common mistake is folding in warm grains, which melts the cheese into a runny, grainy mess.
- Total time
- 815 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the wheat
- 9 oz soft wheat berries
- ½ tsp salt
For the cream
- 1 ⅛ lb sheep's or cow's milk ricottadrained
- 4 oz icing sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 ⅛ oz candied orange peelfinely diced
- 2 ⅛ oz dark chocolatechopped into small pieces
To serve
- ⅔ oz pistachios (optional)chopped
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Rinse 9 oz soft wheat berries and soak in plenty of cold water for 12 hours, changing the water once if you can. Drain.
720 minStep 2: Put the wheat in a large pan with fresh water to cover by 5 cm and bring to the boil over a high heat.
8 minStep 3: Simmer, partly covered, for 60–70 minutes, topping up with water, until the grains are plump, many have split open and they are tender with a little chew. Add ½ tsp salt for the last 10 minutes.
65 minStep 4: Drain, spread out on a tray and cool completely, at least 30 minutes.
30 minStep 5: Beat 1 ⅛ lb sheep's or cow's milk ricotta with 4 oz icing sugar and ½ tsp ground cinnamon until smooth and creamy; press it through a sieve first if it is grainy.
Step 6: Fold in the cold wheat, 2 ⅛ oz candied orange peel and 2 ⅛ oz dark chocolate until evenly mixed.
Step 7: Chill for 1 hour, then serve in bowls, scattered with ⅔ oz pistachios.
60 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 60 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does cuccìa (Palermo wheat berries with sweet ricotta) take?
- About 815 minutes in total: 740 minutes to prepare and 75 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of icing sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of ground cinnamon?
- A cinnamon stick, ground: about ½ tsp per stick.
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