Agnellini Pasquali: Sicilian Easter Marzipan Lambs

From Cosa Bolle in Pentola, the Newsletter:
As of this writing, we're rapidly nearing both Easter and Passover. You'll find articles devoted to Italian customs for both holidays on the holidays and regional meals page. However, I didn't have anything on Sicilian Easter lambs, and I've gotten a number of requests for them of late. Pino Correnti discusses them at length in "Il Grande Libro della Cucuna e Dei Vini di Sicilia" (Mursia Editore):

"Agneddu Pasquali (Agnellino Pasquale in Italian) are part of the Sicilian Easter ritual" he writes"inherited from the Jews and made in four main types that are all inspired by the form of thr "Agnus Dei" whose bronze Byzantine prototype is in Palermo's National Museum."

The first are Agneddu di Pasta di Zuccaru e Jarofulu, lambs made from a sugar-and-clove paste.

The paste is the same used to make Ossa di Mortu, the Bones of the Dead made for All Saint's Day. In other words, combine equal weights of sugar and unbleached all purpose flour, adding a half-ounce of ground cloves for every 2 1/4 pounds of flour and sugar mixture. Heat the ingredients with a little water in a pot over a brisk flame, stirring constantly, and as soon as all has fused into a homogenous paste use the paste to fill appropriately shaped molds, pressing it down firmly with your hands.

After a few days, remove the lambs from the molds, moisten the undersides of the lambs, and bake the for a short while (Mr. Correnti doesn't say what temperature; I'd guess a medium oven); the sugar will bleed up through the bases, taking on a pretty brownish color.

These are, he says, the most popular but least elegant lambs.

There are also lambs made from a sugar syrup that's poured into special plaster molds, which are made in Palermo and Caltanisetta, and Agneddu di Zuccaru Cannicu, candied sugar lambs made in Adrano, Biancavilla and Paternò.

And finally there are Agneddu di Pasta Riali, marzipan lambs, made from ground almonds and sugar, covered with icing, and delicately painted. These particular lambs are often filled with citron jam, and are a specialty of the town of Erice. And of Acireale, where they're made close to life size. The process is involved. First you must make the marzipan, which is also known in Sicily as Pasta Reale, royal paste, because it was made in the kitchens of the great nobles and the confectioner-friars of Mantorana di Palermo; it's the base of many of Sicily's renowned pastries and cakes. It's made from top quality almonds, ground, and an equal weight of sugar, together with a little cinnamon water (if you cannot find this use a dash of cinnamon extract or powder). The mixture cooks in untinned copper pots and is shaped by artisans while still warm, into the most varied shapes, from fruit to fish to snails to (in this case) lambs. The finished sculptures are painted with food dies, placed on communion-type wafers (edible rice paper will work too) and baked briefly in a slow oven.

To make pasta reale at home you'll need:

• 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) blanched almonds
• 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup cinnamon water (see above).

Mince the almonds as fine as possible (you can do this with a blender, but be careful not to overblend, lest the almonds become a paste and give off their oil).

Melt the sugar with the cinnamon water over a low flame, and as soon as the syrup begins to form threads, stir in the almonds and tartar. Continue cooking over a low flame, stirring constantly, until it forms a ball that comes off the sides of the pot. It's now ready to be shaped.

To make the dies to paint the lambs, gently melt sugar in a pot with a little water, so as to form a syrup, flavoring it with a little jasmine or vanilla extract, and once it has thickened a bit (you will want it the consistency of a paint, I would think), divvy the syrup into containers and color them to taste with food colorings. Unless you are very good at sculpting you may want to brush the lambs with a coat of clear icing so as to have a smooth surface to paint on subsequently.

In terms of fillings for lambs or other marzipan sculpture shapes, Mr. Correnti suggest candied dates, chopped nuts, diced candied fruit, citron jam, fig jam, quince jam, or rosolio, a sweet, mild liqueur. You will in any case want to add the filling when you're shaping the lambs, and smooth over a layer of marzipan to seal it in.

I unfortunately don't have any photos of lambs, but the one here of assorted fruits and a shrimp will give you an idea of what's involved.

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