November 11 is Saint Martin’s Day. In Sicily, it marks two important moments of the agricultural year. It is the day when wheat farmers must have finished planting the seeds for next year’s grain, and it is when, traditionally, wine makers taste their fermenting new wines (the juice/must that was created from August/September/October’s grape harvest) to see how it’s going. For wine makers, Saint Martin’s Day marks the end of the grape harvest season as well. These dry biscuits I photographed early this week at the paneficio are flavored with anise or fennel seeds. They are every where in Sicily right now. They are traditionally soaked and then eaten with the new wine.
There is also a sweet version, stuffed with ricotta, I saw today at my local bar. I’ll have to try that and report back!
