Inés Butrón, an expert in the history of gastronomy, says that traditional sweets are always associated with a festival, usually religious. “Sugar consumption was very scarce because it was always an expensive product and even non-existent in times before the 19th century, when white beet sugar began to be used. Substitutes range from honey to arrope or mustillo. So the sweet is limited to days of celebration,” she explains. During Holy Week this fact reaches its maximum expression and it does so, with a great diversity of preparations that vary depending on the geographical area, leaving aside the queens of these dates: torrijas and Easter cakes.
Among all the traditional sweets, Butrón clarifies that “pestiños and Manchego flowers or flakes belong to the type of sweets called 'frying pan fruits' which also include buñuelos or donuts with their different local names: doughs flavored with spices, liqueurs , spirits, citrus fruits, fried in olive oil—no animal fat—as required by Lenten abstinence and sprinkled with sugar or covered with honey. Others, such as Alicante toñas, mark the end of Holy Week because they are eaten on Easter Monday (after Easter Sunday) in the area of Catalan influence, from Catalonia to the Valencian Community. They use cow butter, which is very abundant, on the other hand. side, in Asturias. “The important thing about sweets is that they adapt to the difference between lean days and fatty days, with oil or butter. At Carnival, pork derivatives are mostly used—chicharrones, blood pancakes—and at Easter, dough fried in oil.”
Even with their differences, some more obvious than others, all these sweets have in common, says Butrón, “that they are elementary desserts that give priority to a baked or fried cereal dough, which use, on the one hand, what they have on hand. in its territory: butter or oil, milk where there is plenty of it, eggs, sometimes, liqueurs, anise or matalahúva, honey or sugar, etc. On the other hand, they contain ingredients that indicate that their root is Arabic, such as citrus fruits, nuts such as almonds or spices such as cinnamon.”
Some can be found in different parts of Spain. Others are characteristic of a specific region. Any of them justify the trip.
1.
pestiños
Very typical in Andalusia, the ingredients of this sweet reveal, as Butrón indicates, its Arab origin. In addition to pantry staples such as flour, yeast and oil, pestiños are made with spices such as cloves. The preparation of this sweet has become a tourist attraction in itself in Vélez de Benaudalla, in Granada, thanks to the Conchita bakery where thousands of pestiños leave daily towards all of Spain. The woman after whom the establishment is named is Conchita Pedrosa and her daughter is Elisa Sánchez, the person in charge of the business that has been operating for more than 40 years. “The ingredients of the dough are Antequera matalauva, pure ground cinnamon, olive oil, wheat flour and white wine. Cardboard table wine is like water, a wine from the Alpujarra has more flavor,” says Sánchez, who has worked with his mother since 1998. Belonging to the third generation of the family to run the workshop, he also points out that In the preparation, which follows grandmother's recipe, “there are no tricks, no preservatives” and “anyone can make it at home. The only trick is the years.”
In Conchita they make pestiños every year, but during Holy Week they make about 2,000 a day—and another 2,000 roscos, for which the place is also famous. They are made by hand between four workers and then sent throughout Spain in 24 hours by courier, although they do not want to reveal the price.
Conchita. Calle Mariana Pineda, 18. 18670, Vélez de Benaudalla, Granada. Telephone: 958658434.
2.
Toña Alicante
Carlos Mariel explains, by Forn Mariu, in Ibi (Alicante), that the traditional Easter cake comes from the toña to which, after the Reconquest, the egg “which was a symbol of abundance after the Lent period” was added. Specifically, the toña “has its origin in the mass of panquemao which is made throughout the Valencian Community” and is from the middle of the province of Alicante towards the south, “starting from Foia de Castalla to practically the Region of Murcia, where it is called toña or tony. In its ingredients, in addition to eggs, sugar, flour, yeast, sourdough, olive oil and salt, “cooked potatoes are added, which gives tenderness to the dough due to the properties of the tuber.” The sweet is essential in the shop windows on these dates and is mainly consumed on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.
For those who live in Madrid, you can find a good panquemao in San Francisco Workshop.
Forn Mariu. Carrer Riu de les Caixes, 61, 03440 Ibi, Alicante. Phone: 624 64 05 02.
3.
Saffron donuts
“Saffron is one of the quintessential ingredients of Castilla La Mancha and is widely used in cooking and increasingly in pastries,” says Fátima Gismero. This pastry chef from La Alcarria knows it well and uses it, for example, to make the saffron donuts at Easter that her grandmother made more than 40 years ago. “They are made during Holy Week in the area, although they have already stopped making them in many places,” she says. She keeps them true to her philosophy of “not letting traditions be lost” and she makes them by infusing the saffron with the liquids of the recipe for 48 hours to fuse all the aromas together. Afterwards, they knead with all the ingredients and leave the dough to rest for three hours. Once weighed and cut, the donuts are formed one by one manually, “as usual”, fried in olive oil and coated in sugar. The bag of six units sells for 9 euros.
Fatima Gismero. GU-206, 19162 Pioz, Guadalajara. Telephone: 622 22 54 34.
4.
Rubiols from Mallorca
Joan Seguí, from Forn Sant Francesc, comments that the Rubiols They are consumed in Mallorca throughout the year, but during Holy Week it is also tradition to make them at home. “The name and shape resemble Italian ravioli and its most typical filling is cottage cheese, so the origin seems to be in Italy,” says Seguí. At first glance, they resemble a dumpling whose sweet dough is made with “flour, lard, sugar, orange juice and egg,” says the pastry chef, which can then be filled in multiple ways, the most common being, in addition to cheese. fresh, with angel hair, jam, cream or chocolate.
In the case of the renowned Inca workshop —winner of the award for the Best Ensaimada in the World in 2017— they make them, in addition to the traditional formula, with puff pastry, “thin, crunchy and filled with the same flavors.” It is our specialty, and with apricot jam made by us, it makes a difference over the others,” says Seguí. They sell the unit for 2.30 euros.
Forn Sant Francesc. Carrer de Sant Francesc, 126, 07300, Inca, Mallorca. Telephone: 971 50 49 93.
5.
Borage sprigs
Borage is largely unknown in much of Spain, but in Aragon, La Rioja and Navarra it is mainly one of the star winter vegetables. The desire for use gave rise to the production of borage crespillos, typical of Alto Aragón, with that part that was discarded when cooking it as a main dish: the leaf. Sweets are also consumed on other designated dates such as Christmas, but it is around Easter when people pay homage to them, even having a own party in Barbastroaround March 25.
The truth is that because it is a preparation that must be made just before serving so that it is in optimal conditions, it is not something that is sold in workshops, but rather is made in homes and in restaurant establishments, as indicated by the Guayente Hospitality School. Regarding the origin of the name of the sweet, they indicate that “etymologically, Ildefonso García Serena in his Praise of the chireta offers two explanations, but thinks it is more likely to come from the Latin word crackle, which means to crackle, that is, to make noise when frying in oil.” This is exactly what is done with the borage leaf once it has been coated in a mixture of flour, water, milk, eggs, sugar, yeast, to which anise grains and orange peel are also added.
At Kanalla Gastro-tavern, in Zaragoza, they always have them on the menu, although not as a dessert, but as a starter and updated with a few drops of sauce kimchiat 11 euros a portion.
Kanalla Gastrotavern. C. de Luis López Allué, 2, 50005 Zaragoza. Telephone: 644 86 14 15.
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