August 15 in Italy symbolically celebrates the most important day of the summer, although the meaning is of a religious nature, it is chosen as the reference period of the year for the high tourist season. Also called Ferragosto, in honor of the first Roman emperor Augustus, who had sanctioned this period as a rest for his armies and parties for the whole empire. Initially Ferragosto was 1 August, then it was moved to 15, to better manage workers' holidays.
It is a tradition in my part to spend the eve of August 15th in the company of friends, between a few beers and good food, usually around a fire on the beach, with your head turned towards the sky to admire the shooting stars. A tradition that for years I have always gladly respected but then with families and children it is impossible to continue to respect. Fortunately for me, my friend has a spacious villa where we can continue the tradition of celebrating together.
This year, however, we decided to commit ourselves more than usual and instead of the classic grilled meat, we opted for panzerotti. Well here in southern Italy the panzerotto is known as a culinary tradition and practically everyone grows up with the passion of making panzerotti at home. Since I was a child, I have supported my mother and I watched carefully the various steps: from the creation of the dough, to the drafting, from the filling and closing of the panzerotto to its cooking in boiling oil. The closure is certainly the most important and difficult step: if not well sealed, at the time of frying, the contents will pour into the oil, creating some problems in the cooking phase. The technique consists of a not too floury dough, then the tradition requires the closure with small fists along the edge and finally the sealing with the teeth of the fork. Not easy but after seeing the process a few times and with a little practice, you already get good results.
For frying, we have set up an outdoor station, with an electric hob, a large pan and peanut oil, excellent for light and delicate frying. In reality, all the preparation took time, the process of spreading the dough and frying alone took over two hours of time but when you are in the company of friends, time passes too quickly, the effort is shared and the pleasure of being together is the only thing that matters.
The children played all the time, the pool definitely cheered up and refreshed our skin in the most critical moments of the day and in the evening, exhausted from the long work, the satisfaction of seeing the smile on everyone's face is truly satisfying, beyond any way. Alas we no longer have the energy to continue the festivities well into the night and the shooting stars remain a sight to behold in our dreams.
In fact, when I got home, despite the tiredness, I'm still not sleepy. So, after my son and my wife fell asleep, I decided to lie down on my deckchair on the balcony of the house, a light blanket to protect me from the fresh night air of these days and my gaze turned towards the sky to admire the stars. Will I be able to see any of them before I fall asleep? Yes, I saw a couple of them but then sleep overwhelmed me, happily falling asleep on my deckchair.
Happy Ferragosto 😊