SICILIAN WATERMELON PUDDING

Gelu ri muluni

 

SICILIAN WATERMELON PUDDING

Gelu ri muluni

 

History

Sicilian watermelon pudding (people of Palermo call it gelo di mellone) is a dessert watermelon-based, typical of Sicily and in particular of its capital. Watermelon is the summer fruit par excellence in Palermo, and it is easy to find, all around the city, trucks and motoape (three wheeler motor vehicle) showing on the sidewalks muluni (melons) arranged in pyramids: sellers are called mulunari, custodians and protagonists of a ritual about the recognition of the most ripe and tasty fruit.

In fact, the mulunaru places the watermelon close to the ear and knock on it, and by the sound emitted he understands if it is ready to be consumed: if so, there will be the taste that, at the purchaser’s request, can be done by tagghiu (cut: a vertically cut from polo to polo) o ‘ntaccu (notch: a hole, usually square, deep up to the heart of the fruit). The slice of muluni agghiacciatu (cold watermelon) is one of the preferred remedies in Palermo to beat the summer heat and that’s why it’s sold as street food. The watermelon pudding is also well-liked – a dessert typical of the Fistinu (festival) of Santa Rosalia – whose origins presumably date back to the Arab domination. It was in fact the Arabs to introduce watermelon in Sicily as well as many of the other ingredients of the recipe: pistachios, cinnamon, vanilla and jasmine, a flower that cannot miss, even in form of essence, in the version of Palermo of the pudding. The preparation of the dessert is indicative of the advanced culinary skills of Sicily of that time: the cooks of the Arab courts, for example, introduced new gelling techniques, also used in the processing of fruit. The characteristic of melon pudding is its texture similar to a pudding: this feature, that can be found in other Saracen desserts, such as blancmange, supports the hypothesis about the Arabic origin of the recipe, more convincing than the one about the Arbëreshë community, settled in the valley above Palermo (Piana degli Albanesi) in the XV century. Over time, monastery and noble cuisines have kept and modified the traditional preparation: not only a dessert, but also filling for tarts and cassate. Chocolate chips were added more recently, to simulate watermelon seeds. Today the melon frost, as well as in domestic kitchens, is the protagonist in the pastry shops and cafes of Palermo, in single portions or as stuffed of baked cassate, tarts, genovesi (short pastry sweets usually stuffed with ricotta cheese) and croissants. The best time to enjoy it is between July and August, when watermelons are perfectly ripe: the color will be very bright even without the deprecable use of food dyes. The complexity of flavors, smells and textures make the gelo di mellone a unique dessert. People of Palermo, and not only, express true love for it and wait for summer to renew and strengthen a century-old tie.

Recipe

INGREDIENTS (Serves 6)

  • 1l watermelon juice
  • 80g cornstarch
  • 100g sugar (depending on the sweetness of the watermelon)
  • 50g dark chocolate chips
  • 25g pistachios
  • Cinnamon (o vanilla) to taste
  • 10 jasmine blossom

If you use jasmine essence, macerate the flowers for 24 hours in half a glass of water. Cut the watermelon into slices, remove peel seeds, then pass the pulp in a vegetable mill. Put in a saucepan juice, starch and sugar and stir until they are dissolved. Put the pan over a low flame, add the water of the jasmine without flowers and stir until the mixture will thicken, avoid the formation of lumps. Let cool for a few minutes, then add the chocolate chips. Pour the mixture in wet molds. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for a few hours. Once ready, the pudding can be served unmolded or in the mold. Garnish with pistachios, jasmine blossoms and a sprinkling of cinnamon.