Sicilian Biancomangiare, one of the grandmother recipes of Sicilian cuisine, the original milk-based pudding thickened with starch, an economical and delicious dessert, like Biancomangiare with a warm chocolate heart.
In my family of origin, biancomangiare was an almost unknown dessert, a recipe that simply wasn’t made, and I could say I had never heard of it until I married my husband, who, unlike me, knew it very well and loved it dearly!
I remember one day he asked me to make him “biancomanciare” and I looked at him bewildered as if to say: “and what is that????”.
Yet when I asked my mother-in-law, I discovered that “biancomanciare” and not “biancomangiare” was a very simple milk pudding, made without gelatin, but thickened with corn starch (maizena). I later discovered that in the same way they prepared Lemon gelo, Orange gelo, Watermelon gelo, Cinnamon gelo and even the biancomangiare made with Almond milk and many other similar recipes with different fruits.
But let’s get back to our milk biancomangiare, the one my husband adores and which is also the original Sicilian milk pudding variant, simple and traditional and scented with lemon zest, just as his grandmother made it and then his mother.
Want to know something? Once discovered, even my children began to love biancomangiare and so when I make it I prepare a good quantity to satisfy everyone!
Curious? Let’s go to the kitchen, I’ll tell you how to make biancomangiare, but before we start cooking I remind you that if you want to stay updated on all my recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here) .
Take a look:
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 5
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2 1/8 cups milk
- 5 1/2 tbsp cornstarch (maizena)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- as needed lemon zest (whole)
- 1 packet vanillin (optional)
Tools
- Pot
- Whisk
- Molds or flat plates
Sicilian Biancomangiare, grandmother’s original milk-based recipe: preparation…
To make the biancomangiare, pour the cornstarch into a heavy-bottomed pot and loosen it with a little milk, add the sugar, stir and pour in the rest of the milk.
Add the vanillin only if you like and the lemon zest cut into a curl and left whole.
Place over moderate heat and cook until you obtain a thick and creamy mixture.
Pour the mixture into molds or onto flat plates, let cool and place in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
If you plan to serve the dessert as the finale of a formal lunch or dinner you should make individual portions or a single more elegant dessert.
For a family dessert to enjoy as a snack or after a meal, you can let the pudding set on the plate and eat it cut into pieces.
To enrich the dessert you could also add cocoa powder or cinnamon.
To keep the biancomangiare for up to two days, do not unmold it; cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the coldest part of your refrigerator until serving.
I bought my molds at a supermarket of a well-known German chain, but I found these on Amazon and they are very nice: silicone molds.
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