The Cooked Wheat is a traditional recipe from my region, not all of Apulia but specifically the Foggia area and its province. A recipe that has always sweetly accompanied the day of November 2nd dedicated to the commemoration of the deceased. A special recipe with boiled soft wheat, pomegranate seeds, dark chocolate, walnuts, and candied citron. All strictly dressed with Vincotto. It is also called Grano dei morti, and, in the Foggia dialect, “u grn cutt“. This dessert has a rich symbolism, related to death, rebirth, and life after death, probably derived from Saracen or Greek-Byzantine culture. A rustic dessert of popular tradition, whose recipe was gifted to me by my mother and has been passed down in our family. Today, I want to share my recipe with all of you, to bring a piece of my traditions and my land into your homes. In the past, only nuts and pomegranate seeds were added to the boiled soft wheat, dressed with vincotto or boiled grape must. Over time, pieces of dark chocolate and candied citron or mixed candied fruit were added. The boiled must is a product difficult to find outside my region, it is obtained by reducing grape must over heat and is also used to dress other typical Christmas desserts like Cartellate or the Mostaccioli. In short, a recipe I recommend you try, and don’t forget to let me know if you liked it. So let’s head to the kitchen and prepare Cooked Wheat together
AND DON’T MISS THESE RECIPES TOO:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 12 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 8People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Day of the Dead
- Energy 226.63 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 37.29 (g) of which sugars 17.70 (g)
- Proteins 4.86 (g)
- Fat 7.32 (g) of which saturated 3.32 (g)of which unsaturated 2.05 (g)
- Fibers 2.82 (g)
- Sodium 18.65 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for November 2nd Wheat
- 1 cup wheat (soft or bianchetta)
- 1 pomegranate (medium)
- 1 oz walnut kernels
- 3.5 oz dark chocolate
- 3.5 oz candied citron (or mixed candied fruit)
- cup vincotto
How to prepare Cooked Wheat
The longest part of the recipe is cooking the soft wheat grains, also known as bianchetta because of their light color. This is an operation I usually do the night before. I put the wheat in a tall pot, cover it with water, and let it cook for about 20 minutes from boiling.
I turn off the heat and cover the pot with its lid. Then I gently wrap the pot in a blanket and leave it there overnight. In the morning, I drain the wheat and transfer it to a bowl. Clean the pomegranate by dividing the seeds. My tip for cleaning the pomegranate is to do it in a bowl of water, the seeds separate more easily and you won’t mess up everything; the only precaution will be to dry them afterward.
Cut the walnut kernels into small pieces. Also, cut the dark chocolate and citron or candied fruit into small pieces. Now you can prepare the Cooked Wheat: add the chocolate, walnuts, pomegranate, and citron to the wheat. Mix everything and dress with the vincotto. I recommend dressing only the amount of Cooked Wheat you will consume, because if it is already dressed and left over, the vincotto tends to harden it, so dress it little by little. Store it in the fridge in a container
See you tomorrow with a new recipe, hugs, Loredana
Loredana’s Tips
You can boil the wheat in advance and store it in a container in the fridge for 1-2 days
Don’t miss the recipe for the Almond Nougats
