“Being a travelling monk in sixteenth-century Sicily couldn’t have been easy. During Lent, the season of austerity preceding Easter, monks were expected to hike on foot day after day for forty days, ministering to the faithful across the land. Although they were able to stop at monasteries for sustenance, eating meat was prohibited. There is a story of Benedictine nuns in a monastery in Modica who skirted the Lenten laws by sneaking meat into a chocolate empanadilla (Sicily was under Spanish rule at the time) to fortify the brothers, and that’s how this pastry was purportedly invented. The name 'mpanatigghi is obviously one degree away from empanadilla.

'Mpanatigghi aren’t as odd as they may sound. Think of them as a sort of mincemeat. The chocolate pretty much takes over the flavor, with spices further obscuring the taste of meat, bolstering the story of the wily Benedictine nuns. The best ones are to be found at the Antica Dolceria Bonajuto in Modica—especially when they’re straight from the oven.” - Victoria Granof

MAKES 24

Pasta frolla

240g unsalted butter, at room temperature

150g sugar

½ tsp fine sea salt

1 egg

2 egg yolks

80ml unflavored fresh milk

270g all-purpose flour

250g semola rimacinata (fine semolina flour)

Filling

225g triple-ground beef (20 percent fat)

100g almond flour

150g Modican chocolate, Mexican chocolate, or any dark chocolate, grated

80g caster sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp fine sea salt 

1 egg, for egg wash

To make the pasta frolla - In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and salt, and stir until well combined. Stir in the egg, the egg yolks, and the milk, then the flours,  all at once. Do not overmix; you want the dough to come together with no floury bits remaining.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it gently a few times. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in parchment paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to a month. Take it out of the fridge 20 minutes before you plan to use it.

To make the filling, place the beef, almond flour, chocolate, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a medium bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together in a mass. Now pick up the whole mass with your hand and, with force and authority, slap it back into the bowl. Do this another 20 times. This will tenderize the meat and make the filling smooth.

Preheat the oven to 190˚C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and have ready a pastry brush and a sharp knife. In a glass, whisk together the egg and 2 tablespoons of water with a fork to make an egg wash.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one-fourth of the dough 3mm thick and punch out rounds with a 10 cm cookie cutter. Lift away the dough scraps and set aside.

Brush the rounds with egg wash and place a spoonful of filling in the center of each. Fold the dough over to form half-moons, enclosing the filling. Press the edges gently to adhere. With a sharp knife, cut a small slit in the top of each pastry and transfer them to the baking sheets, leaving two finger-widths between the pastries. Gather and re-roll the scraps, and continue cutting and filling pastries until all the dough and filling are used up.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until nicely browned. Cool the pastries completely before serving. Store airtight in the fridge for up to a week.

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