A PUDDING FOR CARNAVAL

 

Creamy, nutty, a little chewy--a luscious pudding to celebrate Carnaval.

Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday,” is the finale of a month leading up to the beginning of Lent. In Spain, Carnaval begins weeks before with festivities that vary from one region to another. Using up porky foods is part of the tradition. Out with the sausages! Gobble all the fatty ham and lard before the abstinence of Lent! Eating and carousing are everywhere a big part of Carnaval.

This Cuajada de Carnaval, a very traditional pudding from Granada, is an indulgence any time of the year, but is special for Carnaval. Traditionally, it utilizes mantecados and polvorones, lard-based cookies leftover from Christmas, to form the base of the pudding. “Angel’s hair” confiture, pastry cream, and ladyfingers are layered on the base, somewhat like a trifle. 

The pudding, called cuajada, has layers of pastry cream between sweet ladyfingers, crunchy almonds, and a sugary topping. 

Granada Pudding for Carnival

Cuajada de Carnaval Granadina

The pudding needs at least 8 hours in the fridge to “cuajar,” or set, so prepare it a day before serving.

Pomegranate emblem.

The pudding is basically an assembly job. Only the pastry cream needs to be prepared in advance. The pudding is usually assembled in a large ceramic bowl. If the bowl has a pomegranate, the emblem of Granada, so much the better. If you want to be absolutely authentic, you will need a cut-out pattern of a stylized pomegranate for sifting sugar on the top of the pudding. I used a  10x3-inch bowl. The pudding may also be divided between 8 individual bowls. 

Cookie crumbs are layered with cream, ladyfingers

Serves 8.

Components and substitutions: 

Pastry cream

Mantecados/ polvorones or crumb crust

Angel’s hair conserve (cabello de angel) or fruit jam

Ladyfingers (bizcochos de soletilla) or sponge cake

Chopped almonds

Confectioners’ sugar and ground cinnamon 

Pastry Cream

Crema Pastelera

Make the pastry cream before assembling the pudding. It can be made a day in advance and refrigerated until ready to use. Bring to room temperature and whisk the cream smooth before using.

The pastry cream is traditionally flavored by infusing the milk with lemon peel and cinnamon. Alternatives are vanilla or, in honor of Valentine’s Day, which, coincidentally, is today, Februrary 14, melted chocolate.  

I tried a microwave recipe for the pastry cream. It works just fine, but, timing will vary depending on the power of the microwave unit. If you prefer, cook the cream on medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.

2 cups whole milk

1/3 cup cornstarch

¼ cup (or more) sugar

3 eggs

Pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl. Use an immersion blender to blend them until smooth. Microwave on High (800W) for 3 minutes. Remove and stir the mixture. Microwave on High for 2 minutes. Stir again. Microwave 1 minute and stir. If cream is not completely thickened, return to microwave for 30 seconds. (If your microwave is more powerful, reduce timing to 3 minutes + 2 minutes.) 

Use the immersion blender to blend the cream so that it is completely smooth. Cover the surface with plastic wrap. If not using immediately, refrigerate the cream. Bring to room temperature and whisk it smooth before assembling the pudding.

To assemble the pudding

1. Prepare the crumb base:

Mantecados and polvorones are crumbly cookies made with lard. They usually contain ground almonds, sometimes sesame seed. If not available, use your favorite crumb crust, baked or unbaked.  (No-Bake Crumb Crust; Almond Crumb Crust; Recipes for mantecados: Cinnamon-Lard Christmas Cookies; Crumbly Olive Oil Mantecados) 

12 ounces mantecados and/or polvorones (about 8 cookies)

Milk or water, if needed

Crush or grind the mantecados. Set aside ¼ of the crumbs for the topping. Spread the remaining crumbs in the pudding bowl and press them firmly on the bottom and partially up the sides of the bowl. If crumbs aren’t easily compacted, moisten them first with a few drops of milk or water. (If you are substituting a baked crumb crust, use a baking dish or oven-safe ceramic vessel for the pudding.)

2. Angel’s Hair Confiture

Angel’s hair conserve is the candied strands of cidra, a type of gourd. Called cabello de angel in Spanish, it can be purchased in cans. If not available, use any fruit jam. Apricot or orange marmalade are especially appropriate for this pudding. (More about angel's hair confiture and how to make it here.)

Spread angel's hair.

½ cup angel’s hair or jam

Water if needed to thin 

If the conserve or jam seems too thick to spread, add a few drops of water and heat on medium in the microwave. Using the back of a spoon, spread the angel’s hair over the base of crushed cookies in the bowl. 

First layer pastry cream.

3. Pastry cream

Spread half of the (room-temperature) pastry cream over the layer of angel’s hair conserve. 

Ladyfingers make a cakey layer in the middle.

4. Ladyfingers

Called bizcochos de soletilla in Spanish, the (store-bought) ladyfingers make a layer in the center of the pudding. A 1-inch thick slab of sponge cake or brioche can be substituted for ladyfingers. 

8 ladyfingers

½ cup milk

1 tablespoon, rum, Sherry, or liqueur

Combine the milk and rum in a shallow bowl. Dip the ladyfingers quickly into the milk and place them over the layer of angel’s hair. Cut pieces to fill in gaps.

5. Almonds

½ cup coarsely chopped almonds

¼ teaspoon olive oil

Pinch sugar (1/16 teaspoon)

Combine the almonds with the oil and sugar. Spread on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high 1 minute. Stir and microwave 1 minute more. (The almonds do not need to color.) Cool. Scatter the almonds on top of the ladyfingers.

Ready for chilling--reserved cookie crumbs make the top layer.

6. Pastry cream and crumbs

Spread remaining pastry cream on top of the ladyfingers and almonds. 

Spread the reserved mantecado crumbs on top of the pudding. Lightly press the layer of crumbs into the pastry cream.

7. Chill the pudding

Cover the pudding bowl with several layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or up to 2 days.

8. Topping

Add the topping of cinnamon and confectioners' sugar immediately before serving.  If you wish to make a typical pomegranate or other shape (why not a heart for Valentine’s Day?) on the pudding, you will need to have a cut-out pattern ready.

Confectioners’ sugar

Ground cinnamon or unsweetened cocoa

 Sift cinnamon or cocoa over the top of the pudding. Place the paper pattern on top and sift powdered sugar over it. Brush sugar off the pattern and carefully lift it off. 

To serve, scoop out portions of the pudding with a large spoon.

Typical blue-green ceramics from Granada with a stylized pomegranate, the city's emblem.

💗💗💗   💗💗💗   💗💗💗

More recipes for Carnaval:

Crispy Ears

Sweet Rolls with Lard (Ensaimadas)

La Mancha Crispy Lard Pastries (Tortas) 

Galician Pancakes (Filloas) 

And for Valentine's Day:

Dark Chocolate Cream Custards 

Late-Night Liqueur 

Chocolate-Fig Bonbons

FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS 

The Culinary Legacy of Spain

FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS, The Culinary Legacy of Spain. Here's a fresh angle on the traditional cooking of Spain, with 120 recipes that trace their roots to Moorish Spain. See below for where to order. 

This cookbook explores the fascinating story of the deep and lasting influences that Islamic culture has left on modern Spanish cooking. 

Author and Spanish cooking expert Janet Mendel tells the story of the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking through 120 recipes and photographs for modern-day dishes, from salads and vegetables to fish, poultry and meat to sweets and pastries, that trace their heritage to foods served in medieval times. Dishes from this era include exotic spices such as saffron, the use of fruits and almonds with savory dishes, and honeyed sweets and pastries. The flavors of al-Andalus live on in modern Spanish cooking and are what makes Spain’s cuisine distinctive from the rest of Europe. (Hippocrene Books)    

 Order on IndiePubs (USA) 

Use PROMO CODE HIPPOCRENE40 for 40% off on all Hippocrene titles at IndiePubs online bookstore.

***

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Order on amazon.es  (Spain)

Order on amazon.co.uk (UK)

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(If you order on Amazon, please give my book a review!)

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SOUP SEASON CONTINUES

 

Here's a soup to get you through the winter.

 

This is the longest running soup season that I can remember, a winter during which I may never eat salad or other cold dish for lunch. This week’s selection is a fairly new addition to my soup rotation. I included this recipe for Sopa Morisca in my new cookbook, FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS, The Culinary Legacy of Spain (Hippocrene Books). 

Sopa Morisca, or “Moorish” Soup, is from Almería and Granada provinces in southern Spain, the region that was the refuge of the Muslim population after the fall of the last Moorish kingdom of Granada, in 1492. These people, called Moriscos, were ostensibly converted to Christianity and allowed to remain. They were finally expelled from Christian Spain in 1609. 

This hearty soup is sort of a cross between Spanish sopa de picadillo that is made with the broth from a cocido, with chickpeas, chicken, and fideo noodles, and Moroccan harira soup, which may have lentils as well as chickpeas.  As made today the soup has a base of chopped tomatoes and is seasoned with pimentón (paprika). As those ingredients come from the New World, I omitted them from the recipes in the cookbook as they are not flavors of al-Andalus. To tell the truth, I like to finish the soup with a spoonful of harissa, Moroccan hot-chile paste!  

A heart-warming soup for cold weather--vegetables, chickpeas, and fideo noodles. Chicken optional.

This recipe for Morisca Soup appears in FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS.

Morisca Soup with Chickpeas and Noodles from Almería

Sopa Morisca Almeriense

This recipe uses canned or precooked chickpeas, so is fairly quick to prepare. (If you are starting out with dry chickpeas, put them to soak in hot water the evening before cooking. Drain and add to fresh hot water. Cook until chickpeas are tender, about 1 ½ hours.) 

Fideo noodles, like vermicelli, come in sizes from the thinnest angel’s hair to medium-thick. For this recipe, use medium-thick ones or substitute spaghetti broken into short lengths.

 

Serves 4.

¼ cup olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onions

½ cup diced celery

½ cup diced carrots

½ teaspoon coarse salt

3 cloves garlic

Pinch of saffron threads

¼ teaspoon black peppercorns

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

8 cups chicken stock or water

Salt

1 ½ cups cooked and drained chickpeas

¼ cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 cup medium fideo noodles

1 cup diced cooked chicken (optional)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Sprigs of fresh mint

Chopped cooked egg, to garnish

Lemon wedges, to serve

Bread to accompany the soup

Heat the oil in a soup pot. Sauté the onions, celery and carrots on medium heat 5 minutes. While onions are sautéing, in a mortar grind the coarse salt with the garlic, saffron, peppercorns and cumin. Stir this mixture into the pot with the vegetables.

Add the stock or water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Add salt to taste. Add the chickpeas, half of the parsley and the cilantro. Cook, covered, until vegetables are very tender, 15 minutes. Add the fideo noodles and cook them according to package directions, 12 minutes for medium fideos. Add the cooked chicken, if using, and remove the soup from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice. 

Serve the soup with sprigs of mint and chopped egg. Accompany the soup with lemon wedges and bread.

I've added a spoonful of Moroccan harissa, hot-chile paste, and some chard from the garden to the basic soup recipe. 

***   ***   ***

Here's a collection of regional Spanish soup recipes, from Basque leek and potato to garbure Navarra, that will see you through the final six weeks of winter.   READY FOR SOUP 

FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS 

The Culinary Legacy of Spain

FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS, The Culinary Legacy of Spain. Here's a fresh angle on the traditional cooking of Spain, with 120 recipes that trace their roots to Moorish Spain. See below for where to order. 

This cookbook explores the fascinating story of the deep and lasting influences that Islamic culture has left on modern Spanish cooking. 

Author and Spanish cooking expert Janet Mendel tells the story of the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking through 120 recipes and photographs for modern-day dishes, from salads and vegetables to fish, poultry and meat to sweets and pastries, that trace their heritage to foods served in medieval times. Dishes from this era include exotic spices such as saffron, the use of fruits and almonds with savory dishes, and honeyed sweets and pastries. The flavors of al-Andalus live on in modern Spanish cooking and are what makes Spain’s cuisine distinctive from the rest of Europe. (Hippocrene Books)    

 Order on IndiePubs (USA) 

Use PROMO CODE HIPPOCRENE40 for 40% off on all Hippocrene titles at IndiePubs online bookstore.

***

Order on amazon (USA)

Order on amazon.es  (Spain)

Order on amazon.co.uk (UK)

Order on amazon.com.au (Australia)

(If you order on Amazon, please give my book a review!)

***

Order on ark.no (Norway)

AN ABUNDANCE OF LETTUCE

 

Too cold for salad; lettuce soup!

After a few rainy days and some sunshine the kitchen garden is flourishing. The lettuce looks gorgeous and it’s time to start picking. But with temperatures so low, I have no desire to eat salad. 

I’ve added chopped lettuce to my usual vegetable soup, but, searching for something a little different, I was delighted to find this recipe for a Spanish lettuce soup on the blog Me Sabe a Málaga ("it tastes like Málaga") by Ana Abellán. 

Crushed almonds give the soup a creamy consistency without any dairy. Made with vegetable stock or water, the soup is a nourishing vegetarian dish. For my rendition, I used homemade chicken stock and finished the soup with poached egg. 

Cooked lettuce is nicely chewy. Crushed almonds give the soup a creamy consistency.

Poach eggs right in the soup. 

Lettuce Soup

Sopa de Lechuga

Beaten eggs can be stirred in to thicken the soup or, alternatively, one egg per person can be poached in the soup. Serve the soup with bread which can be broken up into the soup, as desired.

Serves 4.

From garden to soup pot.

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 slices bread

¼ cup blanched almonds

2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed to split the skins 

1 medium onion, chopped

1 leek, chopped

4 cups chopped or shredded lettuce

6 cups chicken or vegetable stock or water

Salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

Chopped ham (optional)

2-4 eggs

Sprigs of fresh mint

Fry bread, almonds.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil on medium-high in a pan. Fry the bread, almonds and garlics until they are golden. Skim them out. Discard garlic skins and place the garlics in a blender container with the bread and almonds. Reserve.

Add the onion and leek to the pan with additional oil, if needed. Sauté them gently until softened, 4 minutes. Add the lettuce and sauté until lettuce is wilted. Add the stock or water, season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Cook 20 minutes. 

Ladle some of the broth from the pan into the container with the fried bread, almonds, and garlic. Let it stand 5 minutes to soften the bread, then blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into the pan. Add ham, if using. Cook 5 minutes.

Stir 2 beaten eggs into the soup or break 4 eggs into the soup and poach them until whites are set and yolks still runny.

Ladle soup and eggs into bowls and serve the soup garnished with mint sprigs. 

Second day, I reheated the lettuce soup with chunks of lacón, smoked ham.

More recipes--mostly salads--with lettuce:
Lettuce Salad with Everything 

Lettuce Hearts with Garlic and Asparagus

Gazpacho with Cucumbers and Lettuce 

Spanish Mixed Salad 

Springtime Vegetable Stew with Dumplings 

FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS 

The Culinary Legacy of Spain

FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS, The Culinary Legacy of Spain. Here's a fresh angle on the traditional cooking of Spain, with 120 recipes that trace their roots to Moorish Spain. See below for where to order. 

This cookbook explores the fascinating story of the deep and lasting influences that Islamic culture has left on modern Spanish cooking. 

Author and Spanish cooking expert Janet Mendel tells the story of the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking through 120 recipes and photographs for modern-day dishes, from salads and vegetables to fish, poultry and meat to sweets and pastries, that trace their heritage to foods served in medieval times. Dishes from this era include exotic spices such as saffron, the use of fruits and almonds with savory dishes, and honeyed sweets and pastries. The flavors of al-Andalus live on in modern Spanish cooking and are what makes Spain’s cuisine distinctive from the rest of Europe. (Hippocrene Books)    

 Order on IndiePubs (USA) 

Use PROMO CODE HIPPOCRENE40 for 40% off on all Hippocrene titles at IndiePubs online bookstore.

***

Order on amazon (USA)

Order on amazon.es  (Spain)

Order on amazon.co.uk (UK)

Order on amazon.com.au (Australia)

(If you order on Amazon, please give my book a review!)

***

Order on ark.no (Norway)