The ring is one of the main symbols of commitment, of promise.

It is immediate, almost instinctive, to think about the marriage promise when looking at a wedding ring on a person's left ring finger, or the symbol of a future commitment by looking at an engagement ring.

Going back in time, however, the ring has taken on different meanings released from the sentimental world: it represented a seal, a symbol of power intended to be worn by people with important social role or by prominent religious figures within a given community.

In any case, regardless of the context, the ring has always had a strong meaning by interpreting, in fact, a strong link with the caste of belongings or, again, with the beloved one.

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While I was precisely thinking about this symbolism, it occurred to me that the baked pasta in Palermo could not be cooked except with a “ring”, in fact, a symbol of fidelity to traditions and to the family, important values for almost all people from Palermo and, more in general, for Sicilians.

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The ring (or “anelletto”, verbatim “little ring”) is a type of Sicilian pasta, whose shape is easily guessed from the name it bears and which in Sicily is typically used to prepare baked pasta (also called in dialect "pasta cu fuinno", word for word "pasta with the oven").

The baked pasta, a typical one for the Sunday lunchtime with the family or picnics / outings due to its easiness of transportation*, is usually prepared with a base of red ragù, béchamel, mixed cheeses and fried aubergines, but every family then puts its personalized touch and, in general, the more you personalize it, the richer it becomes.

And it is thus that some families, to follow the ancient tradition handed down by the ancestors of an unknown generation, do not consider a proper baked pasta if there are not hard boiled eggs inside; others, on the other hand, unaware of the fact that the classic ragù is certainly not made with tofu, put cold cuts cubes in it because <<otherwise it comes without meat>>; still others enrich the Queen of pasta with meatballs left over from the day before. Clearly all these ingredients are added to the "basic" ones of the simpler recipe.

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In its being a traditional dish, baked pasta is a rich pasta that deserves to be prepared only with rings, the perfect symbol of the bond with our land, with aubergines, a very popular ingredient in Sicilian cuisine, with local cheeses, with the abundance of toppings and quantities that distinguishes the festive tables or the ones with friends on Sundays.

Baked pasta is a promise of authenticity, of love for your region, a symbol of the bond with others and for this it materializes in the perfect representation of love, of commitment, of passion: the ring, which in its intrinsic nature, is a perfect infinity.

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And if you ask a people from Palermo what is the closest thing to perfection ... well, for all these reasons, he will most likely answer: "the baked pasta".