Li lebbritti

 Ingredients

• Dried white figs
• Dark chocolate
• Almonds and/or walnuts
• Coffee powder
• Aniseed and/or other sweet liqueur
• Various fruit candies
• Powdered sugar

Method
The farmer began preparing the raw material for making this sweet during the summer, when the production of figs was more abundant; he picked the ripe fruits, peeled them, opened them and put them to dry on reed trellises; he protected them with mosquito nets to avoid contact with flies and other insects; once dried, the figs were placed in a wicker or split reed basket and kept in a cool place until autumn.

Figs were often dried whole, with or without peel.

In the autumn months the work in the countryside allowed for a breather and then the farmer had time to prepare the cake.

We needed a rectangular stencil (10/12x15/17 cm side), about 5 cm high. On its bottom was formed a first layer of figs, duly opened, with the outside facing downwards; the top was sprinkled with chopped chocolate into small pieces; then a layer of almonds was made, previously boiled for 2 or 3 minutes, peeled and toasted in a pan on the fire and finally finely chopped; chopped candied fruit were added; a little anisette was poured with a teaspoon and a pinch of ground coffee was distributed evenly with the hand.

We proceeded to form other layers, arranging the ingredients, always according to the order described, until the mold was filled, being careful to finish with a layer of figs, this time with the outside facing upwards.

The special lid was placed on top of this last layer and the cake was pressed with a small press. Once out of the mould, it was sprinkled with icing sugar; a bay leaf was placed in the center of one side; it was wrapped in wax paper, which was secured with an elastic band or string; finally it was placed in a cool and dry place.

It was left to "rest" for at least 15-20 days so that it would take on better flavours.

It was cut into slices and served on Christmas holidays.

A small piece of this dessert and a bite of bread delighted the palate of adults and children and often constituted an excellent snack.

Recommended wine
Cooked or raisin wine

Variant
The ingredients of the previous recipe could be treated with a more expeditious technique. The figs were passed through a meat grinder with a rather large chain and then mixed with all the components used in the aforementioned recipe; the compound was divided into portions, which were pressed, giving them the shape of a sausage, a salami. Each piece was wrapped in greaseproof paper or fig leaves, tied and left to ripen for a few weeks.