These days, many fruit sellers in Sicily display wheat grains, the basic ingredient to cook cuccìa, the traditional dish that some Sicilian families still eat on Santa Lucia’s day, December 13.
Today, while I was hanging about the marketplace, I saw some grains of wheat on display and asked the fruit seller how to make cuccìa.
She said that the wheat grains should be kept soaking in water for two days. Only then can they be boiled. After they are cooked, just add some sugar before eating them. However, they can also be seasoned in different ways, for example with ricotta, honey, chocolate, candied fruit, and so on.
I love Santa Lucia. She is considered the protector of the eyes and sight. I feel that she is also the protector of another kind of eyes: the eyes of the soul, of the heart, of the mind.
Ettore Grillo author of these books:
– November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
– Travels of the Mind
Ettore Grillo's Blog 