The Hirshon Sicilian (ish) St. Joseph Day Pasta – Pasta di San Giuseppe

My most glorious Citizenry – it is with great joy that I am returning home to the United States from Norway – only to fly right back here 4 days later for another six weeks of world travel! I now desperately crave Mediterranean flavors – POWERFUL ones with an eccentric hint of Norway – and as such, I give you the glory that is St. Joseph Day pasta!

In Italy and in Italian families around the world, St. Joseph is an important saint and his feast day is full of tradition that celebrates work and the family. Since bread is symbolic of the reward for the hard work that feeds one’s family, it is used as an important part of the celebration of St. Joseph day.

From bread-based art sculptures to the ingredients in this recipe, bread is everywhere on St. Joseph day. St. Joseph was a carpenter and the breadcrumbs used in this pasta symbolize the sawdust from his carpentry work. St. Joseph Day is also the day that the “swallows return to Capistrano.”

Some of the most typical “artistic” breads for St. Joseph Day include:

• The Latin Cross: The ultimate symbol of our Lord’s suffering and salvation.
• The Bambino: The baby Jesus to whom St. Joseph was foster father.
• St. Joseph’s Staff: Legend has it that St. Joseph’s staff blossomed into a lily, a symbol both of life and death.
• St. Joseph’s Purse: This symbol is a reminder to give alms to the poor during Lent.
• A Sheaf of Wheat: Wheat is a reminder that, when a single, tiny grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it bears much more food at harvest time—and that the early spring harvest of greens is almost here.
• St. Joseph himself: He is always represented in profile and hunched over with a cane, symbolizing that he was (according to tradition) an old man, while Mary was a much younger woman.
• St. Joseph’s Beard: This is actually just the Sheaf of Wheat turned upside down, but young children delight when their fathers and grandfathers hold their beard up to their face. It is another reminder of Joseph’s wisdom and old age.
• Heart: A symbol of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary that flourished throughout Italy in general and Sicily in particular in the 19th century.
• The Crown of Thorns: This is in remembrance of Christ’s passion and a reminder that, despite the day’s feasting among Lent’s fasting, Lent is still a season of sorrow—but of hope, too!

Saint Joseph Day, also called the Feast of Saint Joseph or the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, is in Western Christianity the principal feast day of Saint Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary and legal father of Jesus Christ, celebrated on 19 March.

It has the rank of a solemnity in the Catholic Church. It is a feast or commemoration in the provinces of the Anglican Communion, and a feast or festival in the Lutheran Church.

19 March was dedicated to Saint Joseph in several Western calendars by the 10th century, and this custom was established in Rome by 1479. Pope Pius V extended its use to the entire Roman Rite by his Apostolic Constitution Quo primum (14 July 1570).

Between 1870 and 1955, an additional feast was celebrated in honor of Saint Joseph as Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Patron of the Universal Church, the latter title having been given to him by Pope Pius IX.

The feast was also retitled The Solemnity of Saint Joseph. This celebration and its accompanying octave were abolished during the modernization and simplification of rubrics under Pope Pius XII in 1955.

At the same time, Pope Pius XII established an additional Feast of “St. Joseph the Worker”, to be celebrated on 1 May, in order to coincide with the celebration of International Workers’ Day (May Day) in many countries.

In the new calendar published in 1969, the Feast of Saint Joseph The Worker, which at one time occupied the highest possible rank in the Church calendar, was reduced to an optional Memorial, the lowest rank for a saint’s day.

Popular customs among Christians of various liturgical traditions observing Saint Joseph Day are attending Mass or the Divine Service, wearing red-colored clothing, carrying dried fava beans that have been blessed, and assembling home altars dedicated to Saint Joseph.

March 19 always falls during Lent, a season traditionally marked by fast and abstinence. Saint Joseph’s day, however, is a solemnity and per the 1983 Code of Canon Law overrides Friday obligations in the Catholic Church.

In Italy, 19 March is also celebrated as Father’s Day. Bonfires are traditionally lit for Saint Joseph Day in several places in Italy outside Romagna, such as in Bobbio, Emilia-Romagna, in Matera, Basilicata; in the Val Trebbia, and in Serracapriola, Apulia. Zeppole are traditionally fried on the bonfires in Itri, Lazio.

In Sicily and in many Italian-American communities, giving food to the needy is a Saint Joseph Day custom. In many communities, it is very traditional to eat pasta with sardines or anchovy, as it is served during Lent when meat is forbidden.

One prominent custom is the Saint Joseph’s Day altar, which are elaborately decorated with figurines, medals, and votive candles. The altar is divided into three tiers, representing the three persons of the Trinity, with a statue of Joseph at its head.

The tables are dressed with food, which are donated to the poor on the solemnity. On the altar, people place flowers, limes, candles, wine, fava beans, specially prepared cakes, breads, and cookies (as well as other meatless dishes), and zeppole.

According to legend, Saint Joseph interceded to relieve a famine in Sicily during the Middle Ages. There was a severe drought at the time, and the people prayed for their patron saint to bring them rain.

They promised that if God answered their prayers through Joseph’s intercession, they would prepare a large feast to honor him. The rain did come, and the people of Sicily prepared a large banquet for their patron saint.

Blessed fava beans are often given out at St. Joseph’s Tables. Once considered cattle feed, fava beans were the one food which survived the Sicilian drought, sustained the people, and saved them from starvation.

In the United States, Italian-Americans have traditionally venerated the 19th of March and this feast day with great reverence – as noted in this lightly edited and excerpted article from orderisda.org:

VIVA SAN GIUSEPPE! Memories cause the words to echo in my ears, and I cannot help but smile. For this second-generation Italian American of Sicilian background from Buffalo, New York, the month of March means one thing: Saint Joseph Day!

The sights, smells, and tastes of the Tavolata di San Giuseppe, the St. Joseph’s Table (or as they would say in other areas, the St. Joseph’s Altar), all form a true feast for both body and soul at the end of the dull winter, and in the middle of penitential Lent.

Saint Joseph Day means so much to Italians and to Italian Americans, and has thankfully withstood the test of time, remaining one of our community’s most beloved traditions despite modernization and assimilation.

My paternal grandmother was born and raised in Mussomeli, in central Sicily, and the town’s co-patron saint is St. Joseph.

As is the case for most Italian families, many of my uncles, aunts and cousins were named Giuseppe and Giuseppina — Joseph and Josephine. Like countless others, my relatives brought their devotion to St. Joseph with them when they emigrated to America between the 1950s-80s.

The earlier immigrants who came to the United States (especially those who settled in New York, Colorado, Louisiana, California, and even Texas) a century before, had long ago established the custom of the St. Joseph’s Table in the New World, but its popularity had somewhat faded after World War II. 

The veneration of the Foster-Father of Jesus, the Chaste Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Patron Saint of the Universal Church has only grown over the centuries, especially throughout (southern) Italy and wherever our immigrants have settled. How is it expressed within the context of the Tavolata?

An altar is set up as the focal point of the celebration, featuring a statue or other image of the Saint, surrounded by candles and flowers, especially lilies symbolizing his purity. The Table is blessed, and St. Joseph is prayerfully invoked.

Mary and Joseph being refused a place to stay in Bethlehem several times before hospitality was finally offered in the stable or cave, is often reenacted. This performance is called the Tuppi Tuppi (Knock, Knock). Loud cries of Viva San Giuseppe! (Hooray for St. Joseph!) frequently punctuate the meal.

There are several versions of how the Table came to be. Some sources date it to events in 1262 or 1268.

One of the most-repeated accounts describes a famine or drought in Sicily leading landowners or farmers to promise St. Joseph that if his intercession brought about rain, they would serve a free meal to the local vergineddi (little needy children) or vicchiareddi (old people). 

Another explanation attributes the meal’s origin to a similar vow made by unsuccessful fishermen who could not catch anything. In fact, some claim this is why fish is served at the Tavolata instead of meat, but meat scarcity among poor Sicilians and the Feast being held on March 19 (during Lent) are what likely shaped the menu.

The millenary practice of making a promise or vow to give a Table if, through the intercession of St. Joseph, one or a relative were granted a healing, the successful birth of a healthy baby, a job obtained, etc. continues even today.

The promise was made on a significant scale during World War II, and other wars and conflicts, if loved ones were to return home alive and safe. Often in the past, and still today for some, fulfilling the promise meant doing so at considerable financial sacrifice.

Now – as to today’s recipe for St. Joseph Day pasta!

I have exorcised all demons of fallacy from My take on this delicious and powerfully-flavored recipe – and have consulted with several Sicilian-American and Italian-American friends to vouchsafe the unimpeachable authenticity of My version!

That said, the recipe title DOES say “Sicilian (ish) for a very good reason.

I have adapted a few elements from the classic Southern Italian recipe for pasta puttanesca (yes, it means “Whore’s pasta”) and the irony of including elements of it in this holy recipe are not lost upon Me! From a gastronomic and catechism orientation, let’s just call My version oriented towards Mary Magdalene!

My recipe includes the use of garlic, hot pepper and oil-cured black olives and IMHO, it is greatly improved by their inclusion in abundance. I also call for the lavish use of Sicilian olive oil, top-quality extra virgin of course! You can buy a very good version from here.

Traditional versions of the recipe always use sardines and frequently anchovy – I have chosen to highlight both fish in My version. Remember when I said today’s recipe had a Norwegian component? That is from the use of the best commercial sardines available – King Oscar brand from Norway!

Buy My preferred Mediterranean-flavored King Oscar sardines from Amazon here – and if you aren’t a sardine fan, you can omit them (HERETIC!) and replace with anchovy fillets instead. When it comes to anchovy, I prefer this Italian brand for the recipe and you can buy it from Amazon here.

The spaghetti is of course another star of the show in this recipe for St. Joseph Day pasta, so PLEASE just trust Me and only use this superlative Italian heirloom wheat spaghetti – it will profoundly change you for the best! It too is available from Amazon and may be purchased from here.

Traditionally, St. Joseph Day pasta calls for both pine nuts and walnuts – I have chosen to use walnut oil instead of walnuts in My version, and this is My go-to brand of walnut oil. Pine nuts should NEVER be from Asian sources, as they have many quality issues – these organic ones are straight from Italy.

Rather than using the classic chopped fennel fronds, I have instead decided to go with My preferred choice of fennel POLLEN, which to My taste has a more potent and superior flavor! This is My chosen brand – I recommend it highly for St. Joseph Day pasta.

Saffron is a classic spice used throughout Sicilian cooking and adding it to the cooking water of the St. Joseph Day pasta infuses the dish with its auric beauty and potent flavor – this is a great source for quality saffron. I also call for another classically Sicilian ingredient, not usually used in this recipe – microplaned orange zest!

Golden raisins are an integral part of the recipe and this is a fantastic source for them – enjoy any extras as a delicious snack! Lastly, I do enjoy some grated cheese sprinkled over the dish even though it’s not supposed to be used. I prefer this Sardinian cheese – to My palate it works best in My heterodoxical recipe.

I promise that St. Joseph Day pasta will bring your jaded palate back to a most holy resurrection, My dear Citizens – set aside your fears and know that a holy experience awaits your dinner table, regardless of religion or creed!

I would lastly like to extend profound thanks to My old friend Michael Malizia for his fantastic suggestions to the recipe – he is a man’s man, a proud Italian-American veteran and an inexhaustible resource on all Italian cuisine!

Battle on – the Generalissimo

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