Mini Caprese Inspired Appetizers for Italian Saint Days

Caprese salad is a simple Italian salad, made of sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, seasoned with salt, and olive oil. It was made to resemble the colors of the Italian flag: red, white, and green. A clever Italian Flag-Shaped Caprese Salad was featured in past post. Since the salad is a specialty of the Island of Capri and the province of Calabria in southern Italy (which includes Naples) it is especially fitting for feast days of the saints associated with that region.  This week we celebrate San Gennaro (St. Januarius), the patron of Naples (September 19).  Two recent August saints, St. Alphonsus Liguori and St. Philomena, are associated with the region as well. And then there is St. Pio of Pietrelcina next week who is not from the region, but is Italian, and this can definitely be for any Italian saint as well.

I came across this variation of the salad as an appetizer and with sun-dried tomatoes which I love, so decided to give it a try. They were quite delicious and make a fun feast day savory treat. Ideally, this would be made with the true mozzarella di bufala, a specialty of the Naples region.

Mini Caprese Inspired Appetizers

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. fresh mozzarella ball, diced small
3 tablespoons oil-packed, sundried tomatoes, patted dry and diced
2 tablespoons fresh basil, thinly chopped
1½ tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
30 Phyllo Shells
Flake sea salt, to garnish

DIRECTIONS:
In mixing bowl, combine mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes,vinegar and oil. Mix thoroughly. Fill mini shells with one heaping teaspoon of mixture. Garnish with chopped basil and flake sea salt. Serve.

You can buy the phyllo shells ready made (Ex: Athens Mini Fillo Shells) or make your own from phyllo dough. I adapted mine from this tutorial - cut them round instead of square. 

Pin It

Chicken San Gennaro

This delicious recipe for Chicken San Gennaro was submitted by Hi Cookery in honor of the feast of St. Januarius, which is celebrated on September 19th.  

September 19: Feast Day of St. Januarius (Gennaro in Italian)

We enjoyed meandering around Manhattan’s Mulberry Street, which is the main thoroughfare of “Little Italy.” On the weekends, when the weather was nice, we would take a 45-minute train ride from New Jersey, where we lived, to New York and explore the ethnic sections of the city. Little Italy was just steps away from Chinatown, so we got to tour (and taste) the best of both worlds!

Little Italy hosts an annual Festa di San Gennaro, an 11-day festival coinciding with the feast day of the patron saint of Naples, in September. The big block party features parades and processions, vendor and games booths, entertainment and food! A sausage sandwich with sweet bell peppers and onions is traditionally sold and served at the festival. But a similar version is made with chicken. We tried the latter at home for a tasty and traditional meal marking the Feast Day of St. Januarius.

Recipe

(Adapted from Cooking With the Saints by Ernst Scheugraf)

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, skinless and thinly sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 cup onions, sliced
• 1 sweet red bell pepper, sliced
• slices of Italian bread, toasted

Directions

Lightly season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet with a little olive oil and saute the garlic over low heat. Turn up the heat and brown the chicken on both sides. Remove from the skillet and keep warm on a lipped plate. In the same skillet, pour in the white wine, scraping the brown bits. Sprinkle the oregano and basil and boil to make a sauce. Pour over the chicken.

In the same skillet, saute the onions until brown and soft, adding a little olive oil as necessary. Remove from the skillet. Saute the pepper until slightly softened but still crisp. On a plate, lay a few slices of toasted Italian bread. Place a chicken breast on top of one slice. Spoon a little sauce over it. Garnish with a side of onions and peppers. Serve as a sandwich.

Notes

• San Gennaro festivals are held where there are large communities of Italian-Americans, such as New York City, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
• The Feast Day of St. Januarius/Gennaro is celebrated in the West on September 19. But in Naples, the patron saint is fested on December 16 (this was the day in 1631 that Mount Vesuvius could have had a volcanic eruption but Italians believe that he interceded and spared the city).

Pin It

The Blood of St Januarius

Today is the feast of St Januarius a bishop who was martryed under Dioclesian. He was a saint and martyr who died while visiting Christians imprisoned by Rome and forced to work as slaves in sulphur mines for the crime of being Christian. His body was brought to Naples, where his relics have been honoured since that time.

Each year in our home we remember this feast of the usual yearly miracle associated to this martry for Christ. St Januarius is famous for the liquidation of his dried blood (contained in a vial, so common to Roman martrys) on particular holy days each year. One such day, is his feast day, the 19th of September.

It is held up for pilgrims to see, in the hands of the priest where this vial is usually seen to bubble and liquify for a short period of time to attest to the faithful that he still watches over the city. I say usually, as it has on a few occasions failed to do so and usually it has been connected to disasters that have struck in that year.

For the feast of St Januarius we made some lovely berry drinks, in rememberance for this miracle - it is very simple 3 cups of apple juice, 1 cup of frozen blueberries and 1 cup of frozen raspberries in the blender, a very healthy and tasty drink - cheers to St Januarius!

Here is the news report of St Januarius's feast in 2008.

Pin It

San Gennaro or St. Januarius

September 19 is the feast day of St. Januarius, bishop and martyr. There is not much known about St. Januarius. He was Bishop of Benevento in Campania. He died near Naples, about the year 305, martyred under the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. Around the year 400 the relics of St. Januarius were moved to Naples, which honors him as a patron saint. He is better known as San Gennaro to the Italians of Naples.

In addition to seeking a new life in America, immigrants from Naples, brought with them a rich culture and deep religious heritage, including the centuries-old tradition they had followed in Italy to celebrate the feast day of San Gennaro. It has continued and the largest festival, which is now a 2 week street festival, is held in Manhattan, NY.

Not being from that part of the country, I first became aware of New York’s San Gennaro festival in reading the book, American, Too by Elisa Bartone. It is a very intriguing cultural and religious celebration to me. It’s a great day to honor this saint as the Italians and Italian-Americans do, with lots of good Italian food which could include:

pepper and sausage sandwiches
pizza margarita
cannoli
zeppoles (traditional for St. Joseph's feast, but served for other feasts as well)
gelato

Here are a variety of recipes from Campania Italy, the region of Naples and San Gennaro.

Pin It