January

This dish  is traditionally eaten on New Year’s Eve and New Year's Day, as wish of wealth and abundance for the new year.
In fact, the lentils represent money and the sausage stuffing the container that will hold it.

Ingredients
400 g lentils
1 onion
1 celery
1 carrots
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 leaf of laurel
60 gr. fat of ham

Method
Let the zampone in cold water for 7 – 8 hours.  With a big needle make some holes on the zampone, wrap it in a clean dish-cloth and link it with a string.
Drain it and put in a large pot. Cover with cold water and boil it for three hours at least, adding more hot water gradually.
In a saucepan  brown the onion, the celery, the carrot and the fat of ham minced together, add the washed lentils, the laurel, salt and pepper and cover with hot water.
Cook with moderate fire for about 30 minutes.
Take the cooked zampone off from the dish-cloth, cut it in slices and lay it down on the lentils bed.

The word "Befana" comes from the Grecian word “Epiphany”.
In Italy the Befana is usually described as an old and ugly woman who flights on her broom over the roofs, enters in the chimneys and leaves in the houses socks full of toys, candies and chocolates. She put in the socks also some coal, if the child’s behavior wasn’t very good during last year.
A story says that Befana refused to go out of her house during the night with the shepherds to visit Baby Jesus. She went the morning after, but she didn’t find anyone. So, from that day, she wanders without stops, visiting the children in the whole world, looking for Jesus.

6th January – Fantoccia  (doll) and Cavalluccio (little horse)

According the tradition of our area (river Arno Valley), on the morning of 6th January, the children receive a big biscuit with the shape of a little horse or a doll. The biscuit is covered of colored chocolates and candies. In the past, in our rural area, people was poor and they haven’t enough money to buy presents to the children in Christmas period, so they made the Fantoccia (doll) for the girls and the Cavalluccio (little horse) for the boys.

Ingredients for 4 biscuits:
1 kg flour
3 eggs
50 gr raisin  
one orange juice
lemon zest
200 gr sugar
2 tablespoon milk
125 gr lard
a pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of baking powder
chocolates and candies for decoration

Method
Mix flour, sugar, sdalt and lemon zest. Add the eggs, the lard melted in the milk, the raisin wet in the orange juice and the baking powder. work the pastry with the hands and let it rest for half an hour. Put the party on the baking tin giving it the shape of doll or of horse. Decorate with the candies. Put in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes, till the Fantoccia or Cavallucio begins to become light brown colored.