Puglia is not only a land of olive trees, taralli, caciocavallo and turnip tops. Puglia is also a land of Carnival. One of the most famous carnivals is that of Putignano, which is just over 20 km from the Trulli Sole and Luna, and the most famous mask is that of Farinella which derives from the gastronomic tradition of Puglia. Farinella, typical of this area, is a flour of toasted chickpeas and barley with the addition of salt that was consumed together with dried figs and wild onions during breaks from work in the fields. In fact, the Farinella mask expresses the Apulian tradition linked to poor food and the land.
Farinella is a jester with a rather similar appearance to that of Arlecchino; her dress is multicolored and she wears a two-pointed hat with rattles. It is believed that in ancient times Farinella's dress was red and blue, the colors of the city, and that the hat had three points, which symbolized the three hills of Putignano.
In Puglia as in all of Italy, Carnival is a festival that has its origins in the Catholic tradition. This term, in fact, derives from the Latin carnem levare which literally means "eliminate the meat" and identified the lavish banquet that was held on Shrove Tuesday, precisely on the occasion of the last day of Carnival before opening the fasting and abstinence period of Lent. . It is no coincidence, therefore, that among the Carnival recipes there are mainly sweets and particularly rich dishes.
The main ingredients of almost all Carnival desserts are eggs, powdered sugar, flour and seed oil.
With these ingredients, for example, the tales or lies of carnival, famous all over the world, are prepared.
The origin seems to date back to the Roman era, when during this period some sweets made with eggs and flour called "frictilia" were prepared, which were fried in animal fat and prepared to celebrate the Saturanali, the holiday that corresponds to our Carnival.
This tradition has survived until today, making only small changes to the basic recipe according to the various regional traditions, even if it is increasingly rare to find chatter or rags fried in lard, fried in oil or baked in the oven.
We at Casa Vacanze in Piuglia suggest you a recipe that will allow you to prepare exceptional chats!
https://blog.giallozafferano.it/fablesucre/chiacchiere-di-carnevale/
Happy Shrove Tuesday!
