"Cicci ammaritati" are a traditional Cilento dish prepared on May Day using all the legumes and grains left over from the winter to wish for a good harvest.
But in other parts of Italy, it was also prepared on November 2nd as a single dish to commemorate the dead. The tradition of using legumes on All Souls' Day has been rediscovered in some towns in Ciociaria, such as Le Fave dei Morti di Aquino (https://discoverplaces.travel/en/stories/lifestyle/tradition-beans-dead-november-2-aquino), prepared using a particular legume that was only recently replanted.
Cicci ammaritati is a simple but very tasty dish, and as with all traditional recipes, there are endless varieties, but the use of different types of legumes and grains is important.
The version I made includes borlotti beans, cannellini beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas, farro, and barley.
Vanni's Cicci Ammaritati Recipe
If you're using dried legumes for this recipe, soak them in water the night before.
Let's start the preparation: in a pan with a drizzle of oil, add the roughly chopped onion and carrot and sauté for a few minutes (if using canned legumes, rinse them well before adding them).
Then add the barley, season, and add the legumes. Remember to add the farro last because it cooks the fastest: "mine takes 10 minutes." Add water and cook for 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare a pesto with parsley, garlic, and coarse salt, which we'll add at the end after tasting and seasoning.
The soup should be served with toasted bread and a drizzle of olive oil, perhaps the new olive oil fresh from the mill.
In the glass, we'll stick with a Cilento wine made with a red wine made from 70% Aglianico grapes and the remaining 30% Piedirosso, a Ceraso IGP Paestum.
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