Miascia is a dessert that fully represents the history and traditions of the towns surrounding Lake Como. It is a typically peasant dish from a period in which nothing went to waste. It is an opportunity to use stale bread, combined with both fresh and dried fruit, to create a filling cake with inexpensive and easy-to-find ingredients.
A humble leftovers dish that is surprisingly rich in fragrance and flavour. One outstanding ingredient is rosemary, which - added before baking - lends a pleasant aroma that makes this dessert even more special.
Miascia is often prepared for holiday celebrations and festivities. It is not a visually spectacular cake, but it is popular for its authenticity and a flavour that evokes a timeless form of cuisine based on simple gestures and ingredients.
There is no one “official” recipe. Each town, and often each family, has its own version. It is this variety that makes Miascia so special, because it is more than just a recipe, representing a way of cooking rooted in local tradition, the seasons and the availability of ingredients.
The version we are presenting here is from Tremezzo, and it stands out for the addition of Fioretto cornmeal, fresh grapes and rosemary.
In a period in which values such as recycling and sustainability are once more a focus in the kitchen, Miascia continues to serve as a reminder that the most authentic recipes are often the simplest.
Miascia
Skill level: easy
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 h
Soaking time: 20 minutes
Resting time: 1 hour
Portions: 6-8
Title
Ingredients
150 g of stale bread
4 dl of milk
1 tablespoon of type 00 flour
1 tablespoon of Fioretto cornmeal
30 g of raisins
1 egg
1 Golden Delicious apple
1 pear
1 lemon
1 small bunch of white grapes
1 sprig of rosemary
50 g of sugar
40 g of butter
1 pinch of salt
How to prepare Miascia
Begin preparing Miascia by roughly chopping the bread. Warm the milk and pour it over the bread, leaving to soak for one hour. Soak the raisins in warm water for 20 minutes, drain and dry. Mix the bread with a pinch of salt, the sugar, the egg, the grated rind of the lemon, the raisins, the two types of flour, the grapes, the apple and the pear peeled and cut into small cubes.
Pour the mixture into a 24-cm pan lined with baking paper, then scatter the rosemary needles evenly over the surface and dot with small pieces of butter before baking in a preheated oven at 180°C for approximately one hour. Serve Miascia warm.