''Maccu'' (also known as ''maccu di fave'' and sometimes referred to as ''macco'') is a Sicilian

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot – though it is sometimes served chilled – made by cooking or otherwise combining meat or vegetables with Stock (food), stock, milk, or water. According to ''The Oxford Compan ...

with a dense texture and also a foodstuff that is prepared with dried and crushed fava beans (broad beans) and wild

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

as primary ingredients. Several dishes exist using ''maccu'' as an ingredient, such as ''bruschetta al maccù'' and ''maccu di San Giuseppe'', the latter of which may be served on Saint Joseph's Day in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

History

''Maccu'' is a peasant food and

staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for an individual or a population group, supplying a large fraction of energy needs an ...

that dates back to

ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian language, ...

. The

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

people may have invented or introduced the foodstuff, which was created from crushed fava beans. The name came from the Latin verbs "maccare" that means to crush. The beans are crushed slightly during cooking. Although ''maccu''s availability in contemporary times in Sicily is generally rare, it is still occasionally served in restaurants and hosterias there.

Ingredients and preparation

Primary ingredients include fava beans, fennel seeds and sprigs, olive oil, salt and pepper. Additional ingredients may include tomato, onion and pasta. The soup is sometimes cooled until it solidifies, then cut into strips, breaded in flour and fried in olive oil. Some preparations of ''maccu'' may use fava beans that have been puréed.

Dishes that use ''maccu''

''Bruschetta al maccú'' is a simple dish prepared with bruschetta and ''maccu'' that may be served as an appetizer or lunch dish. ''Maccu di San Giuseppe'' () is a traditional Sicilian dish that consists of various ingredients and ''maccu.'' The dish may be prepared on Saint Joseph's Day in

, to clear out pantries and allow room for the spring's new crops of vegetables. In Sicily, St. Joseph is regarded by many as their patron saint, and in many

Italian American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

communities, thanks are given to St. Joseph (''San Giuseppe'' in Italian) for preventing a famine in Sicily during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. According to legend, there was a severe drought at the time, and the people prayed for their patron saint to bring them rain. They promised that if he answered their prayers, they would prepare a large feast to honor him. The rain did come, and the people of Sicily prepared a large banquet for their patron saint. The fava bean was the crop which saved the population from starvation and is a traditional part of St. Joseph's Day altars and traditions. Giving food to the needy is a St. Joseph's Day custom. ''Rigatoncini con maccu di fave'' is a Sicilian dish prepared with rigatoncini pasta (a smaller version of

rigatoni Rigatoni (, ) is a type of pasta. They are larger than penne and ziti, and sometimes slightly curved, but not as curved as elbow macaroni. Rigatoni are characterized by ridges along their length, sometimes spiraling around the tube; unlike pe ...

) and fava bean paste.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pk63U0ppWYAC&pg=PA7 , title=Food Culture in the Mediterranean , publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group , author=Helstosky, Carol , year=2009 , page=7 , isbn=978-0313346262 {{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fq_TgTSm5WoC&pg=PA581 , title=The Italian Food Guide , publisher=Touring Editore , author1=Touring Club of Italy , author2=Touring Club Italiano , year=2002 , page=581 , isbn=8836525385 {{cite book , url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000rile , url-access=registration , title=The Oxford Companion to Italian Food , publisher=Oxford University Press , author=Riley, Gillian , year=2007 , pag
501
, isbn=978-0198606178 {{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RyP8b5n0Y7kC&pg=PA218 , title=The Renaissance Guide to Wine and Food Pairing , publisher=Penguin , author1=DiDio, Tony , author2=Zavatto, Amy , year=2003 , page=218 , isbn=1440650985 {{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KOzYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA262 , title=Food History Almanac , publisher=Rowman & Littlefield , author=Clarkson, Janet , year=2013 , page=262 , isbn=978-1442227156 {{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fnveo8cyxKkC&pg=PA329 , title=International Dictionary of Food and Cooking , publisher=Taylor & Francis , author=Sinclair, Charles Gordon , year=1998 , page=329 , isbn=1579580572 {{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NnobKmioiVMC&pg=PA44 , title=Cucina Rustica , publisher=Harper Collins , author1=La Place, Viana , author2=Kleiman, Evan , year=2011 , pages=44–45 , isbn=978-0060935115 {{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xsgPxL4b8GsC&pg=PA53 , title=Sicily , publisher=New Holland Publishers , author1=Facaros, Dana , author2=Pauls, Michael , year=2008 , page=53 , isbn=978-1860113970 {{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ShFHAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Maccu%22+food , title=Pomp and sustenance: twenty-five centuries of Sicilian food , publisher=Knopf , author=Simeti, Mary Taylor , year=1989 , pages=9–10, isbn=9780394568508 Italian soups Cuisine of Sicily Ancient dishes Peasant food

History

Ingredients and preparation

Dishes that use ''maccu''

See also

References