Benedictine monks share monastic cooking tips

[Michie]

A cooking show on Italian TV is making centuries-old monastic recipes available to the general public, with guidance from the garden to the dinner table.​

From beer to pastries, we owe some of the best food traditions to Catholic monks. While some monastic foods like Trappist beer or Sicilian pastries have become well known beyond convents’ doors, there is still a treasure trove of monastic recipes that are yet to be shared with the general public. A new showon Italian TV is trying to share some of the best kept monastic cooking secrets.

The Abbey of St. Martin, located a few miles west of Palermo, was founded in the 7th century and rebuilt from scratch in 1347 after being destroyed by Saracen invaders. Since at least the 14th century, the Abbey’s Benedictine monks have been taking care of the communal vegetable garden, turning local ingredients like fresh tomatoes, eggplant, and basil into delicious gastronomic inventions.

Hundreds of recipes have been stored in the Abbey’s cook books for centuries. Now, thanks to the love for traditional food shared by three of the Abbeys’ monks, some of these recipes are being shared with lay people, too.

Continued below.

The Benedectine monks sharing monastic cooking tips

A cooking show on Italian TV is making centuries-old monastic recipes available to the general public, with guidance from the garden to the dinner table.

aleteia.org