Sicilian Grape Must Pudding (a farinata)

Sicilian Grape Must Pudding (a farinata) is an ancient recipe prepared during the grape harvest season. This unique pudding is made with freshly pressed grape must, flavored with cinnamon and topped with toasted chopped nuts. And most importantly, it contains no sugar whatsoever! With just one bite of this dish, I was transported back to my childhood. It was just as I remembered it, tart and not too sweet, smooth and silky and a bit of crunch due to the toasted nuts.

But before I tell you all about this recipe, I am curious to know if anyone knows of Sicilian grape must pudding, or a farinata as we call it in our dialect. If you have heard of this recipe please let me know by commenting below!

Once you’ve obtained the grape must necessary for making this recipe, it’s really quite simple. Made up of only four ingredients: grape must; cornstarch; cinnamon; chopped nuts as a garnish and absolutely no sugar whatsoever! For those of you who are not familiar with this recipe, allow me to explain.

What is Sicilian Grape Must Pudding?

This is an ancient Sicilian recipe that was prepared during the grape harvest (la vendemmia) each year. Freshly pressed grape must (before it begins the fermentation process thus turning it into wine) is used to make this pudding like dessert.

The grape must is boiled until reduced by half and then allowed to completely cool. Once cooled, cornstarch and cinnamon are stirred in and then brought to a boil until thickened. The pudding is poured onto plates and topped with crushed nuts such as walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts or pistachios. It is placed in the refrigerator to cool and set before it is served.

I also just learned of an interesting variation from my mother. A farinata was left out to dry in the sun for a few days and then cut into squares. This allowed it to be stored long term and was served as a special treat. I can imagine this was probably similar to gummies! Note: I am trying to dry out my own but of course since we don’t have access to Sicilian sun I have mine on a table by the window where lots of sunshine is pouring in. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

What is this dish called in Italian?

After much research looking for any evidence of something called farinata online, I came across similar recipes referred to as “mostarda di uva”. Interesting, however, my family has never called it as such. This is not to be confused with the mostarda prepared in northern Italy which resembles a chutney.

I also learned that in Sicily the grape must was boiled with ashes added to the mixture and then strained. Apparently, the ashes served to reduce the amount of acidity in the grape must. Fascinating!

In the case of my family’s dialect, my mother clarified that the word farinata refers to flour (farina in Italian) because originally the pudding was thickened with flour instead of cornstarch. It  reminds me of my mother’s zuppa inglese recipe, or crema as we call it, also thickened with cornstarch.

Origins of this recipe

This dish was prepared only by my maternal aunt, Zia Carmela, each year when my uncle made wine. Individual plates of this beautiful deep purple colored farinata were then distributed to family members. My mom never made this dish and unfortunately the recipe was lost with my aunt. 

I pieced this recipe together with the help of my cousin in Sicily, one of my mother’s cousins in Australia as well as my mother’s recollections of my nonna making a farinata in Sicily. Thank goodness for social media!

My mission to find grape must

My mission to recreate this recipe began with the search for grape must! Unfortunately we stopped making wine at our house when my father passed away twelve years ago. However I’m lucky enough to live near a city where wine making is common at this time of year. So, I scoured Montreal for a vendor who was willing to sell me only one wood crate of wine grapes, and this was not an easy task. But alas, I found a kind soul who agreed not only to sell me one crate, but he arranged to have them crushed for me as well.

I hurried home with a large plastic bucket containing 16 liters of grape must. Next I immediately set out to transfer it to glass gallons and refrigerate it until I was ready to proceed with this recipe. If I had left it out at room temperature, inevitably the fermentation process would begin. 

The following morning I began the process of preparing a farinata, at last. By the way, in case you’re wondering, yes I made lots of farinata with all that grape must!

How to make Sicilian Grape Must Pudding (a farinata)

You’ll find the complete printable recipe card at the end of this post. The following is step by step instructions with images to guide you.

Use a fine mesh sieve to strain the grape must which will without a doubt contain bits of grape skins, seeds or other particles. I strained mine four times. Alternately, it may also be boiled immediately and strained at the end of cooking. Both methods work well.

Here is what it looked like before I strained it:

And here it is after I strained it.

Place the grape must in a large heavy bottomed pot and bring to a boil. Use a slotted spoon to skim off the foam that comes to the surface. Lower to medium heat and boil until it has reduced by half. This took me about an hour and fifteen minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool slightly before placing it in the refrigerator to cool completely, at least four hours or overnight.

When you are ready to make the farinata, transfer most of the reduced grape must to the same large pot as before. Whisk cornstarch into the remaining grape must in the bowl until completely smooth.

Whisk this mixture into the pot with the rest of the grape must and add cinnamon.

Bring to a boil and cook on medium high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened (about 5-6 minutes).

Ladle the mixture onto dinner plates immediately as it will begin to set. I filled two large 10 inch plates. Top with toasted chopped nuts of your choice such as walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts or pistachios. I chose walnuts as that is what my aunt also topped her farinata with.

Transfer to the refrigerator to cool completely. Spoon onto individual plates to serve.

Tips and suggestions:

• If you don’t have access to freshly pressed grape must another alternative would be to buy approximately 2.5 kg of wine grapes and pass them through a food mill.
• This recipe makes 2 -10 inch dinner plates full but the recipe can be easily halved.
• Keep the grape must refrigerated until you are ready to prepare your farinata.
• Garnish with toasted nuts of your choice such as almonds, hazelnuts or pistachios.
• This dish keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days.

If you give this ancient Sicilian recipe a try, please let me know by commenting below. Feel free to Pin the recipe for later. Buon appetito!