What's in a name? A Different Pastiera

One of the most interesting, and at times frustrating aspects of Italian cuisine is dish names: In some cases the same dish will be called by different names in different places, and this is due to vagaries of dialect. For example, Florentines call potato gnocchi topini (field mice, due to their size and shape), while elsewhere, even in Tuscany, they are called gnocchi or gnocchi di patata.

Much more commonly, however, the same name is applied to very different dishes, and this can make ordering in a restaurant far from home a surprising experience. For example, if you see Migliaccio on the dessert menu in a Tuscan restaurant, it will be a flat chestnut flour pancake made with raisins and pine nuts.

This is today. A century ago in Tuscany and Emilia Romagna the word migliaccio also applied to sweet or savory fritters made with pig's blood (as the Italian Governement no longer allows the sale of pig's blood, to enjoy this kind of migliaccio now you have to be friends with someone who home-butchers a pig). And this isn't all; in Campania Migliaccio can be either a Neapolitan Easter cake made with ricotta or a Carnival dish made with polenta, sausages and cheese.

And this brings up Pastiera, which I knew as a rich, orangy, creamy grain pie that Neapolitans go misty-eyed over, and is an absolute requirement come Easter in Naples or wherever a Neapolitan happens to be -- he or she will either have a pastiera sent, or will cobble together the ingredients and make it, sometimes to the bemusement of the locals, because it is rather particular, one of those things one grows up with and loves, or finds a little odd if one is introduced to later in life (for the record, I like it very much).

In Nocera Inferiore, on the other hand, Anette Perez tells me that the Pastiera is something very different, a simple savory baked pasta dish to put into the basket on Pasquetta, Easter Monday -- the holiday Italians who live in town traditionally celebrate by heading out into the country for a picnic.

Her note:

Kyle,
This is my 90-year old mom's (Anne Annunziata) recipe as passed down from her mom, my Nonna, Lucia Canale Attanasio from Nocera Inferiore. Having visited that area on several wonderful occasions, I have been able to visualize the family picnicking in the hills on a bright blue sunny day, field flowers in bloom and Vesuvius looming in the background. Simple peasant fare at its best!

Mom's Pastiera

• 1 lb. (450 g) perciatelli (spaghetti will work, but the egg mixture gets into to the perciatelli tube better!)
• 6 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2-3/4 C grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente. While pasta is cooking beat eggs until frothy; add cheese, salt, and pepper and continue to beat until all ingredients are well blended. Remove pasta from heat and drain well. Place pasta in a large bowl and pour in egg mixture. Immediately toss pasta with two forks until all are coated with egg mixture.

Transfer pasta into a greased 10" X 10" X 2" baking pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until top turns crisp and golden.

Cut into squares---great hot or cold.

Great for picnics!

Enjoy.
Annette A. Perez