Food 52

Minne Di Sant'agata

These Sicilian pastries come from the city of Catania, where every year in February there is a huge, ancient festival to celebrate their patron saint: Saint Agatha. These delicate pastries, known as minne or cassatelle (minnuzzi or cassateddi in dialect), are dedicated to the young saint and are therefore shaped like breasts (Saint Agatha's legend describes her being tortured by having her breasts cut off before she died). Similar to the Sicilian cassata, minne are made with a soft shortcrust pastry that holds a ricotta and chocolate mixture—or with a liquor-soaked sponge, which is then covered entirely in pistachio marzipan, much like the cassata itself. Note that you will need a half sphere Silicone mold to make these (see the photographs). They are available on Amazon. These are about the size of a cupcake. Depending on the final size of the mold, you could maybe even get 8 minne out of this recipe. While this is a very traditional recipe (loosely based on the recipe of Maria Teresa di Marco in La Cucina Siciliana), not everyone is a fan of candied citron or orange, so you can leave it out and simply keep the chocolate. Be aware, however, that the candied fruit adds quite a delicious element of sweetness to the mixture. P.S. Saint Agatha is also the patron saint of bakers.