Cuccia (Sicilian Wheatberry and Ricotta Porridge) Recipe

By
Sal Vaglica
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Sal Vaglica
Sal Vaglica was a senior editor at This Old House magazine, he has covered food, gear, and gardening for the likes of Saveur, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, Men's Health, Better Homes & Gardens, and Men's Journal.
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Updated August 29, 2018
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Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Whipping the ricotta keeps the dessert smooth and creamy.
  • Topping each bowl with cinnamon and shaved chocolate, rather than stirring those ingredients in, makes for a more aesthetically appealing presentation.

Italian desserts don't get much simpler than cuccia, a rice pudding–like mixture of chewy, nutty wheatberries suspended in creamy sweetened ricotta. The Sicilian specialty is traditionally eaten just once a year, for the Feast of Santa Lucia—a celebration of the fourth-century martyr credited with ending a famine in Sicily by delivering a ship full of wheat to the city of Syracuse. I like it best served the way my mother made it, beneath a dusting of cinnamon and curls of shaved chocolate or chocolate chips. Here's how to re-create the classic at home.

Recipe Details

Cuccia (Sicilian Wheatberry and Ricotta Porridge) Recipe

Active 15 mins
Total 75 mins
Serves 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (6.5 ounces; 185g) dried wheatberries (see notes)

  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 1/2 cups (13 ounces; 370g) fresh whole-milk ricotta (see notes)

  • 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar

  • 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • Ground cinnamon, for garnish

  • Dark chocolate, either miniature chips or shaved with a vegetable peeler or Microplane, for garnish

Directions

  1. Place wheatberries in a medium saucepan, cover with water by 2 to 3 inches, and season with kosher salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce to a simmer, cooking uncovered until wheatberries are tender, about 50 to 60 minutes. Using a fine-mesh strainer, drain berries and run under cool water until chilled. Place strainer of berries over a large bowl and let drain for at least 15 minutes.

  2. While wheatberries cook, combine ricotta, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Using a whisk or immersion blender, whip until creamy and smooth.

  3. Fold cooled wheatberries into ricotta mixture. Cuccia may be served immediately or stored in the fridge in a tightly sealed container for up to 1 week. To serve, spoon into individual bowls, dust with a pinch of cinnamon, and top with shaved chocolate or chocolate chips to taste.

Special equipment

Fine-mesh strainer

Notes

I prefer to use hard white wheatberries, which I find slightly less bitter than their hard red counterparts, but either variety will work for this recipe. We recommend making our five-minute fresh ricotta or purchasing a high-quality ricotta with no gums or stabilizers that lists only milk, salt, and either an acid or a starter culture on the label. Our favorite nationally available store brand is Calabro.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
176Calories
10gFat
15gCarbs
8gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories176
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g12%
Saturated Fat 6g30%
Cholesterol 31mg10%
Sodium 105mg5%
Total Carbohydrate 15g6%
Dietary Fiber 1g5%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 8g
Vitamin C 0mg0%
Calcium 134mg10%
Iron 1mg4%
Potassium 113mg2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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