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Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

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Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby Alexandria » Tue May 15, 2018 3:49 pm

Torrijas (pronounced: Tor ree has ) are a vestige of Spanish history, dating back to the era of the confectionary arts made in medieval convents throughout the country. Today´s torrijas which are similar to French Toast, however, possessing their unique nuances & are most popular during Easter Sunday directly after The Lent ..

One shall also find them in bakeries, bars, and cafés in which they are turned into modern day Tapas with un-traditional toppings.

Here is a traditional recipe from one of my grandmothers .. ( Please note: There are no measurements here, and use your judgement as this récipe is so easy, a kid can prepare these .. ) :clap :clap

1) A loaf of freshly baked raisin bread or egg bread or "torrija" bread
2) Milk
3) Red Wine of choice
4) Honey
5) Eggs
6) Stick Cinammon
7) Lemon zest
8) Orange zest
9) Golden Sugar
10) Cinammon Ground
11) Evoo ( Torrijas are not sautéed in butter )

To prepare the Torrijas:

1) Soak the sliced bread in lightly beaten eggs ( one can use 2 or 3 eggs depending on how many people shall be having ). Do not get too too wet ..
2) Pass the bread into a bowl of red wine or milk ( in ancient times, red wine was used and in Asturias and Northern Spain, milk which was more readily available )
3) And shake off excess liquid ( you do not want the bread soggy or too too wet )
4) Brush a bit of honey on the bread slices, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar lightly ..
5) Heat a few tablespoons of Evoo in a skillet and sauté the bread slices with the grated zest until Golden ..

These are exceptionally extraordinary ..

Enjoy .. :wave :wave
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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby Renée » Tue May 15, 2018 5:44 pm

I remember that you mentioned these, Alexandria, so thank you very much for the recipe and cooking method. I will definitely give them a try after Colin goes back home. He arrives tomorrow and will be here for two weeks.

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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby jeral » Tue May 15, 2018 6:24 pm

Looks like a few of us on here are having house guests thus throwing "normal eating" out of the window for a while. Mind you Renée, with something that sounds very sweet like torrijas, yours might think you're buttering him up so probably as well he ain't gonna get any of it :evil: ;)

Alexandria, it seems a very "Continental" thing to have very sweet pastry-type things for breakfast. Perhaps it passed us by, being blindsided instead by ultra sweetened cereals from the USA, or maybe it's that they go better with strong coffee than tea (our being a so-called nation of tea drinkers).

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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue May 15, 2018 8:57 pm

Torrijas, in the milk version, are very similar to French Pain Perdu or a very old English sweet dish called Poor Knights of Windsor. Though I've not come across red wine outside Spain, I've seen a dash of sherry added to the mixture for Poor Knights.

Poor Knights of Windsor was often served with a jam sauce (heated, diluted, jam) which might contain a splash of something alcoholic

It seems that all over Europe people made sweet versions of eggy bread / French toast and used jam with it if they could

Personal I dislike them all, especially if they involve cinnamon

Here's one version of Poor Knights
http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/english-15th-century-poor-knights-of-windsor-boozy-toast-230602

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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby Alexandria » Tue May 15, 2018 9:21 pm

Renée, :thumbsup :thumbsup

Thank you and have a lovely lovely evening ..

So easy and perfect with a coffee or tea !


Jeral, :thumbsup :thumbsup

Yes, they are perfect for a dessert or breakfast or brunch or a pick me up at 11am or 17.00 - 18.00 ..

Have fun and enjoy and they take just minutes to prepare ..


Sue, :wave :wave

Thank you for your feedback ..


I am not surprised that most Mediterranean countries and the U.K. have their versions of a similar dessert ..

Have a nice evening ..
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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby jeral » Wed May 16, 2018 2:22 pm

Stokey Sue, fascinating about Poor Knights recipe. I wonder if that's how come egg nog (egg & sherry) came about, i.e.who needs the bread? ;) (The posh Advocaat uses brandy.)

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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby Alexandria » Wed May 16, 2018 3:17 pm

Jeral,

There are 3 types of " Jerez de La Frontera " :

1) Sherry Fino White Wine ( Dry and Served chilled )

2) Brandy: Solera Aged .. ( dry )

3) Brandy: Oloroso Aged ( sweet )
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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby Lusciouslush » Wed May 16, 2018 3:51 pm

GAWD - so horribly sweet & eggy....... :thumbsdown

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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed May 16, 2018 4:19 pm

Egg nog and zabaglione are my hell - half raw egg mixed with half cooked booze, Yuk

In English when we say sherry, which is of course a word derived from Jerez, we mean a wine made on the solera system
The kind used for Poor Knights would be a relatively sweet one, such as an oloroso, or better still a Pedro Ximenez (although unlikely to be what was originally used)

More than just fino surely - amontillado, oloroso, palo cortado, and the Pedro Ximenez which is like liquid raisins

We also call my favourite, Manzanilla, "sherry" - not (as we know) from Jerez but from Sanlucar de Barrameda but obviously a close family relative,

I've been to a couple of sherry tastings in London, very interesting. The extra aged "Matusalem" oloroso from Gonzalez Byass is amazing, and at about £20+ a bottle won't be used much in cooking
Last edited by Stokey Sue on Wed May 16, 2018 4:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby jeral » Wed May 16, 2018 4:30 pm

Lusciouslush wrote:GAWD - so horribly sweet & eggy....... :thumbsdown

I can imagine a spoof Fanny Craddock or Floyd enthusiastically demonstrating its making, then Johnny and Keith chucking it in the bin and savouring a Bloody Mary instead. Each to his own eh?

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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby jeral » Wed May 16, 2018 4:39 pm

Stokey Sue, was or is sherry ever served as a pre-digestif to sip before breakfast? I'm wondering if only before dinner might be a much later "modern manners" thing.

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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed May 16, 2018 5:08 pm

jeral wrote:Stokey Sue, was or is sherry ever served as a pre-digestif to sip before breakfast? I'm wondering if only before dinner might be a much later "modern manners" thing.


Sherry is the classic aperitif in middle England, so pre-lunch or dinner (and hardly every properly chilled

I'm not aware of it being served as an aperitif before breakfast, but sherry, like brandy was considered "fortifying" (i.e. good for you in some way) and egg nog like concoctions were occasionally served as breakfast to those who needed building up either because invalids or ahead of a special day. And certainly in late Victorian times some people would have what we'd know call brunch, and that would involve an aperitif

Go back far enough and alcohol was served as the main drink at all meals, including any breakfast, and I seem to remember the Falstaff liked "sack" (early sherry) at any time of day, but that's about 1600

The sweet and and sticky ones, Matusalem, Pedro Ximenez (PX) etc are served as dessert wines

British myths about sherry

1. It keeps for ever when opened,
Oh no it doesn't! the really dry ones such as fino and manzanilla don't keep long at all, and are best kept refrigerated and served chilled, and while the sweeter ones last longer, I have known PX to go past it's best

2. Sherry isn't a real drink, barely alcoholic, suitable for aunts
Sherry is typically about 15% ABV so a small thimble glass contains almost 1 unit of alcohol (1 unit = approx. 70ml). It's a common belief though, I once got a nun drunk on sherry, she didn't appreciate that it qualified as "strong drink" :D

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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby Luca » Wed May 16, 2018 6:08 pm

Stokey Sue wrote:I once got a nun drunk on sherry, she didn't appreciate that it qualified as "strong drink" :D


I did the same to a lot of French people at a party, but with Pimm's. They refused to believe me when I said it was pretty strong and were gulping it back as if it was a soft drink. It was a very hot day.....

Where do you go for the sherry tasting Sue?

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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby Pampy » Wed May 16, 2018 6:21 pm

Reminds me of hearing that my ex-husband's parents - who were strict Mormons - used to drink Eldeflower wine, thinking it was a cordial. I know it's very wicked of me but I couldn't help but find it funny. Almost as funny as when they converted to the religion, ex-FIL, who was a smoker, smoked a full packet of cigarettes one after the other the night before the conversion service, because he didn't want to waste them - he was a true Yorkshire man (said with tongue in cheek, before anyone takes offence).

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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed May 16, 2018 7:14 pm

Luca wrote:I did the same to a lot of French people at a party, but with Pimm's. They refused to believe me when I said it was pretty strong and were gulping it back as if it was a soft drink. It was a very hot day.....

Where do you go for the sherry tasting Sue?

Funnily enough when I worked in a pub I had to find a drink fot a young lady who was having her first proper drink in a pub, and I suggested Pimm's and her uncle thought that was very strong - I explained, not the way it was then served in pubs (25 ml in a glass of lemonade = 0.6 units alcohol only)

I went to a tasting ages ago organised by Gonzalez Byass at the Sunday Times Wine and Spirits show, where I acquired the taste for Matusalem

Then I've been to a couple at the wine tasting group I used to belong to, which was organised in a local wine bar by their wine merchant, In fact I think we did sherry twice, and I once won a prize for identifying 6 sherries blind

I've loved the stuff fo 60 years (those of you who know how old I am may be surprised, Or not :o ) - when I was tiny my grandpa gave me his glass of (very dry) sherry to taste, thinking I'd hate it and stop pestering him for it. I drained it. Fortunately they really were thimble glasses, beautiful art deco which is why I wanted it really - pretty drink! Never looked back though

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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby Badger's Mate » Thu May 17, 2018 12:06 am

I have known PX to go past it's best




Not in this house it doesn't :D

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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby Stokey Sue » Thu May 17, 2018 4:24 pm

I think I said all I need to say on the other thread, perhaps an admin could unpick the sherry from the Torijas and mix and match?

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3687#p58293

The house sherry here is usually Manzanilla - Hidalgo La Gitana mainly or Hidalgo Napoleon if I come across it, though at the moment the bottle in the fridge is Barbadillo fino, which is very good value.

I tended to drink it as an apéro or with tapas, especially fishy ones. As jb says, salted almonds, dry salami, or little cubes of parmesan go well

I really dislike Tio Pepe (Gonzalez Byass' fino, the one you usually find in restaurants), for reasons I can't quite explain

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Re: Torrijas: A vestige of Spanish History ..

Postby Alexandria » Sat May 19, 2018 10:55 am

Sue,

Subject: Alcohol Content in Dry Blonde Fino Sherry :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

The exported standard is between 15 % - 17% .. :thumbsdown

The Spanish Fino served in bars, and restaurants and hotels throughout the peninsula are slightly higher at 18% .. and at the Wine Estates can run higher .. :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

Have a nice weekend .. :wave :wave
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