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| Gachas, a milk pudding, is traditional for the holiday of All Saints' day. |
Comes a rainy day or the holidays Todos los Santos (All Saints, Nov. 1) and Día de los Difuntos (Day of the Dead, Nov. 2), it’s time to make gachas dulces, a sweet milk pudding.
Gachas, also known as poleás, is part of traditional poor folks’ cooking, known as far back as Moorish times (a version is mentioned in a 13th century Arabic-Andalusí cookbook). Then it was made from pounded grains such as wheat, barley, or sorghum or from legume flour from vetch or chickpeas. The flour was sometimes cooked in milk or broth and embellished with meat or vegetables. More often it was just flour and water porridge, sometimes sweetened with honey.
A humble food, gachas has come down to modern-day cooking in both the savory and sweet versions. Made with few ingredients, gachas is something filling to satisfy hungry children or a dish to be prepared for large gatherings, outdoors over a wood fire. Savory gachas are loaded with sausages and bacon.
The sweet version, made with milk, is a kind of wheaten pudding, traditional for tomorrow’s holiday of All Saints. (The smooth pudding appealed to me because, with a dolorous tooth abscess, I’m eating only pureed foods this week.)
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| Gachas are served sprinkled with cinnamon and topped with crunchy croutons of fried bread. |
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| Or serve the pudding in dessert cups with miel de caña, molasses, to accompany it. |
Milk Pudding
Gachas Dulces
The pudding is a thick cream while warm. Chilled, it sets up as firm as gelatin.
Serves 2-3.
2 cups whole milk
Strip of lemon peel
1 cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon aniseeds
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar, to taste (about ¼ cup)
Ground cinnamon to serve
Croutons of fried bread (instructions below)
Molasses (optional)
Combine the milk, lemon peel, and cinnamon stick in a saucepan. Heat on medium until the milk begins to bubble. Do not boil. Remove from heat and allow the milk to cool. Pour the milk through a sieve, discarding the peel and cinnamon stick.
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| Stir until smooth. |
In a clean pan heat the oil on medium-high with the aniseeds until seeds begin to sizzle. Stir in the flour until completely smooth. Cook the flour, stirring, until it is lightly golden. Add about a third of the milk, stirring to mix it with the flour. Add remaining milk, stirring hard to keep the mixture as smooth as possible. Stir in the salt. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the pudding is thickened and smooth, about 8 minutes. Add sugar to taste (2 to 4 tablespoons).
Immediately ladle the mixture into pudding bowls. Sprinkle generously with ground cinnamon. Serve the pudding warm or chilled, accompanied with croutons and molasses, if desired.
For the croutons: Remove crusts from day-old bread. Cut into dice. Place olive oil to a depth of ½ inch in a small skillet. Heat on medium-high and fry the bread cubes until golden on all sides. Skim them out and drain on paper towels.
Halloween (Oct.31) is a relatively new holiday in Spain, an occasion for costume parties, witches and zombies, and truco o trato (trick or treat). (This year most Halloween events are cancelled or postponed due to official luto, mourning period, for those killed in the recent collision of two high-speed rail trains.)
Solemn traditional holidays are November 1, All Saints, (a national holiday), and November 2, Day of the Dead. They are a time of family reunions and visits to cemeteries to pay respects to the dead. Vendors set up along the road to the cemetery selling flowers, roasted chestnuts, sweet potatoes, buñuelos (puffy fritters), typical for the holidays. See more recipes:
Flavors of al-Andalus makes a perfect holiday gift. This cookbook has menus and recipes for autumn/winter holiday meals. 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. (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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