These days, Malaga is living an important time of the year, Lent: a tradition of religious origin that culminates with Holy Week. During Lent, Malaga’s gastronomy boast especially evocative dishes, with flavours that will make you travel through time to a cuisine as authentic as rich in cultural influences. Here are five "miracle" recipes from Lent in Malaga:
Codfish stew
Perhaps it is not as well-known as the “pescaito frito” (fried fish), but certainly one of the best heritages of Malaga’s cuisine are those that are eaten with a spoon. Stews, “peroles” and “ollas” make a healthy nutritional base in the Mediterranean diet, declared World Heritage by UNESCO, and now in Lent with the contribution of a star ingredient: cod. The “potaje de bacalao malagueño” (Malaga’s cod stew also known as “waking stew”, for its origin) is a chickpea stew with small pieces of cod and different spices, including saffron, which gives it colour and an excellent smell..
Preparation:
Put water in a pot, add the chickpeas, bay leaf, a green pepper, a chopped tomato and a drizzle of olive oil. In a mortar, crush some garlic, clove, pepper, cumin and parsley. Pour everything into the pot along with the saffron. After aproximately 45 minutes in a pressure cooker, add the shredded and desalted cod to cook for about 20 minutes more.
Una publicación compartida de El Cocinero Casero (@elcocinerocasero) el
Cod “tortillitas”
We continue using cod as a main ingredient, but in a different format, in “tortillitas”. An easy and exquisite way to taste this product. In some villages, such as Archidona, they are called “papandujas” or “papanduas”, and consist of a kind of cod fritters whose mass includes flour, water, garlic and parsley. They are ideal as a snack.
Preparation:
Chop garlic and parsley, add a few strands of saffron and incorporate flour and a little water while still beating, so that no lumps are formed. Shred the cod before adding it. Let the mixture rest for half an hour with a cloth above. Fry the tortillitas in a frying pan with hot oil. One serving is usually a tablespoon of the mix.
Riquísimas papanduas 😋 #papanduas #cuaresma #platostipicos
Una publicación compartida de cammar_ (@cammar_) el
Ajobacalao
It is one of the best known dishes of the gastronomy of Velez-Malaga, capital of the Axarquia region. The “ajobacalao” is a cream whose appearance has reminders of the “porra antequerana”, which is a cream based on tomato, but with a very different flavour. In the ajobacalao damp bread, garlic, paprika, lemon, oil and shredded cod is mixed in the mortar. Thicken all well and accompanied with olives. Yummy!
Preparation:
Unsalt the cod for at least a couple of days, soaking it in water and changing it frequently to remove the salt. Once this is done, you are ready to cook it and shred it. The water of the cooking is also used to soak the “pan cateto” (the rustic bread of Malaga). Grind in a garlic mortar, paprika, a little squeezed lemon and, as you mix with oil, add the pieces of bread and cod.
Miércoles Ceniza #empezamoslacuaresma #gastronomia #ajobacalao
Una publicación compartida de Jose María López (@josemarialopez_) el
Torrijas
The “torrijas” are eaten throughout Spain during these dates, but in Andalusia and in Malaga its elaboration has a great singularity: wine. Whether with muscatel (a semi-sweet wine) or with raisin wine, Malaga’s torrijas will seduce you with their intoxicating flavour. Establishments like the bakery Aparicio, in the capital of the Costa del Sol, have been perfecting the recipe for generations, and including wonderful variants like their legendary torrijas stuffed with cream. Try them… you won’t regret it!
Preparation:
The “torrijas” are eaten throughout Spain during these dates, but in Andalusia and in Malaga its elaboration has a great singularity: wine. Whether with muscatel (a semi-sweet wine) or with raisin wine, Malaga’s torrijas will seduce you with their intoxicating flavour. Establishments like the bakery Aparicio, in the capital of the Costa del Sol, have been perfecting the recipe for generations, and including wonderful variants like their legendary torrijas stuffed with cream. Try them… you won’t regret it.
Una publicación compartida de javier (@jragel) el
Pestiños
Similar contribution can also be found in the delicious “pestiños”. A sweet of Arab reminiscence consisting of fried dough and spices like matalahuga (green anise) and sesame, bathed in honey or sugar. The Malaga pestiño can also be enriched with a secret ingredient: Malaga wine. Go ahead and try thems!
Preparation:
In an oil flavoured with lemon peel, fry the matalahuga and the sesame. Once cool, pour the oil and the spices into 1.10 pounds of flour and knead. Add a little salt, anise and sweet wine. When it reaches an elastic texture, cover it and let it rest for a quarter of an hour. Then make into small balls and give them the shape of a pestiño by joining the ends. Fry them in hot oil and sprinkle with sugar or bathe in honey, whatever you like best.
Una publicación compartida de Tapeando Sevilla (@tapean2) el
