CULINARY TRADITION DURING ST. AGATHA CELEBRATIONS

Her hometown of Catania celebrates her feast day annually with a mass in her honor, large processions and symbolic foods, such as le minni di Sant’Agata or le minni di virgini (“breasts of St. Agatha” or “breasts of the virgin”)

Recipe
For the filling
2 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
¼ cup corn starch
2 cups milk
orange zest (grated from half an orange)
pinch of saffron
dried or candied cherries
Directions
In a saucepan, whisk egg yolks with the sugar. In a bowl, dissolve the corn starch with ½ cup of milk first, then gradually add the rest of the 1 ½ cups milk. Pour the milk mixture into the saucepan with the egg yolks and sugar. Stir over low heat for about 10 minutes until well blended and thickened. Remove from heat. Mix in the orange zest and saffron. Pour into a bowl. Cover with plastic film wrap directly on top of the filling to prevent a skin from developing. Cool in the refrigerator.
For the dough
4 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter
3 egg yolks
½ cup cold water
1 egg (beaten for the egg wash)
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour with the salt. In another bowl, cream the sugar and butter. Gradually add the flour mixture and blend well. Beat in the egg yolks and water until a pliable dough is formed. Cover and chill the dough until firm (about 30 minutes).

To assemble the pastries, on a floured surface roll out the dough about ¼-inch thick into even pairs of rounds. Onto half of the rounds, scoop the cream filling in the middle. Top with a cherry. Wet the edges of the bottom rounds of the dough with water. Cover with another round of dough and press to seal. Using a three-inch round cookie cutter or rim of a glass, cut over the mounds. Shape a “nipple” from the cherry middle and make sure that the bottoms of the pastries are sealed well.

Lightly mist a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the pastries onto the sheet and brush with egg wash. Bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until browned. Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks. Dust the tops of the pastries with powdered sugar (optional). Serve them traditionally as a pair on a plate.