Book of Days Tales

Today is the eve of the feast of St John the Baptist whose birthday was set as June 24 by the medieval church so as to be six months prior to the birth of Jesus (conforming to the description in the first chapter of the gospel of Luke).  This is a rare example of a feast day celebrating the birth of the saint rather than the death.  Just as Christmas coincides roughly with the northern winter solstice, so St John’s Day falls near the northern summer solstice. Both celebrations occur slightly after the actual solstice because in ancient times observers needed to be certain that the sun had indeed reversed its course.  Both Christian festivals have adopted solstice customs that pre-date Christianity.  Sometimes I struggle with the collection of information to disseminate for my daily posts.  Today the problem is reversed: how do I whittle down all the St John’s Eve traditions from across the Christian cultures of the world to give you something of the spirit of the festival without writing a book?  Here’s the bare bones.  I urge you to look up the customs that are particular to your part of the world.  Unlike those of Christmas, St John’s Eve traditions are slowly fading.

Some communities light massive bonfires to ward off evil spirits that come out on this night, others have parades featuring special music. In eastern Europe, especially, communities have activities associated with rivers and lakes, including floating flower garlands on them. In others, today is a special day for gathering medicinal herbs, particularly St John’s wort. There are also tons of foods for the day, so which St John’s Eve recipe shall I choose?  There are so many.  Do you want Swedish salmon, Mexican tamales, Finnish pancakes, Latvian fresh cheese . . .? In the end I settled on this pasta dish from Brindisi in the Apulia region of Italy off the Adriatic coast. The recipe is adapted from one by Mario Batali.  He calls for whole salted anchovies which are best.  If you cannot find them use tinned anchovies.  You’ll need about 8 to 10 (or as many as suit your tastes). The pasta recommended in the recipe (lasagnette or pappardelle) are broad noodles.  Fettuccini will work fine.

St. John’s Eve Pasta

Ingredients:

¾ cup (120 g) sliced blanched almonds
2 cups (300 g) fresh bread crumbs
4 salt-packed anchovies, filleted, rinsed, and chopped (or 8 tinned fillets chopped)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ cups (3.5 dl) tomato sauce
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
1 pound (.5 kg) lasagnette or pappardele pasta (or any broad noodles)
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil

While the water is coming to the boil, add a small amount of olive oil to a sauté pan (enough to generously coat the pan), and gently toast the almonds over medium heat until golden brown.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the almonds to a plate. In the oil remaining in the pan, toast the bread crumbs, stirring, until golden brown and crisp. Combine the bread crumbs and almonds in a small bowl.

Add more olive oil to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir in the anchovies and crush them into the oil with a fork. Add the anchovies and oil to the bread crumb mixture and season with black pepper. Set aside.

Add more olive oil to the pan.  Add the onion and garlic, and cook  gently until softened but not browned.  Add the tomato sauce to the onions and garlic, bring it to a brisk simmer, and cook until the sauce has reduced by one-third. Add the basil, remove from the heat, and set aside.

Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until just al dente. Drain the pasta well, and toss it into the pan with the sauce. Add half of the bread crumb mixture and toss to mix well.

Transfer the pasta to a warmed serving bowl. Sprinkle the remaining bread crumb mixture over the top, and serve immediately.

Serves 4-6