The brilliant evolution of the pepitoria, new and succulent recipes

In which Mediterranean recipes is saffron essential?

A few years ago one of the students from the

in Malaga

asked me

during a talk-colloquium.

Without hardly thinking about it, I responded quickly: in the

the

of Marseille.

Oh, and also in some

.

The pepitoria is not wearing it? He

questioned me again

True, an unforgivable forgetfulness, I said.

Apart from being among the oldest formulas, it is one of my favorites.

It appears in the two 13th century Almohad manuscripts -

Ambrosio Huici's

, and also in

(the delicacies of the table), by the Spanish Arab chef

-, I continued.

The

hen

, which appears in the first and is attributed to the Abbasid prince

, contains minced almonds, onion, saffron and eggs, in addition to cloves and rose syrup, a mother seed.

Iván Sáez, in his restaurant Desencaja.

JC CAPEL

Seven hundred years later, this pre-Columbian relic, with no ingredients coming from America, emerges at sparking intervals in contemporary cuisine.

For two consecutive days I have enjoyed many other succulent versions in Madrid: the one

mushrooms

,

by

and the

in

, a recipe by

.

Nor can I forget the

seedlings

from the great

in

and the recipe from

at the

restaurant

in Pamplona, ​​which is topped with grated black truffle

melanosporum) and raw egg yolk.

Arabic recipe from French etymology?

What we needed to complicate the maze.

According to some philologists, headed by

, it comes from the French

little goose.

Not because the young of these birds were used for the stew, but because their offal and giblets were used.

French medieval tradition that would give rise to the

, according to the

.

Background that in a way makes things clearer for us.

The traditional pepitoria in Spain has been made with hen, chicken or rabbit, but above all with offal of birds or other animals.

An intelligent way to take advantage of the marginal parts, as the

(1732), predecessor of the current Dictionary of the RAE

, reminds us

.

Theory in which the book by

.

: You

... The same as the Book

(Seville 1808)

So popular has the pepitoria been in our country that it is easy to follow its trail through excellent cookbooks: Art of Kitchen (1599) by

(1611), by

;

El Cocinero Religioso manuscript by a certain

(first third of the 18th century);

(1745) by

;

(1894) by

;

(1913) of the

;

(1935) by

, and, of course,

(1933) by

.

Painted gyozas with fuagrás and truffle (Tuber uncinatum).

JC CAPEL

The same can be said of Spanish literature where references are lavish from the

.

Not only on the part of Cervantes who quotes the pepitoria in

and in the prologue of the

(Of these novels that I offer you in no way will you be able to do

, because they have no feet, no head, no entrails, or anything that it seems), but by many other quotes.

Among them those of

in

were all the holes populated with compasses; there you could see a

, a hand and ...).

Or

in

.

(There is no

that has more giblets of hands, guts and feet).

And also,

in

.

And before that,

in

they took me by sea in a mask, tucked

into the head

like

meat

...).

The illustrious

even dedicated a comment to the pepitoria

in his

(1869) in whose recipe he includes laurel.

La pepitoria was never a viscerally Madrilenian recipe, traditional or whatever we want to call it, at all.

Initially it was made in half of Spain.

Its roots in the capital began in the 19th century at the hands of the libertine Queen Elizabeth II, addicted to this recipe among many other weaknesses.

Pepitoria always with laurel, an indispensable flavor for the sovereign.

reminds us

with a renowned anecdote that reveals the intimate relationship of the queen with this formula.

The event took place in San Sebastián in September 1868. The revolution called

had broken out in Cádiz

when at the end of that month the queen decided to go to France on the way to exile.

She left the England hotel in the company of her husband

and her lover

when a close general begged her to reflect and return to Madrid where

awaited

.

His answer, true or invented, has gone on to add to the most famous quotes of the Spanish royalty: “

.

Lapidary phrase that she pronounced before taking the train to Hendaye and Biarritz where Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenia were waiting for her.

Hugo Muñoz, at the UMO restaurant, with the plate of gyozas in pepitoria.

JC CAPEL

In whole pieces or offal, hen, rabbit, hare and turkey have traditionally been cooked in pepitoria to be presented on Spanish tables with fried potatoes, croutons or white rice.

This is still done in traditional food houses such as

, where they handle the recipe with trade.

The new generations of cooks tend to prepare the stew with free range chickens, guinea fowl, ducks, even poulards from a more or less strict original formula.

As a complement, mushrooms, fuagrás and truffles.

Even oysters in the saffron sauce.

Few really old Spanish recipes have evolved in the same way.

Pepitoria guinea fowl recipe with mushrooms by Iván Sáez

Ingredients:

2 painted;

1 chopped onion;

2 liters of chicken broth;

2 pinches of saffron;

100g of reduced dry white wine;

1dl of sweet sherry;

black pepper, 1 clove, cinnamon and a point of cumin (all in a bundle).

¼ kilo of seasonal mushrooms.

Season the thighs and brown them in the pan with a little oil;

chop the onion, poach it and dip it with the wine;

introduce the thighs and cover with the broth.

Add the saffron threads.

Cook until soft and easily detached from the bones.

Fry the oil with the garlic and bread in the oil over low heat, brown slowly.

Sauté the parsley and almonds.

Blend everything in the thermomix and when the guinea fowl has finished, add to the stew and cook over low heat.

The breasts are marked separately to give them the appropriate point at the time of service.

Compose the dishes with thighs and breasts of the bird covering them with plenty of room.

Serve with the seasonal mushrooms sautéed and seasoned separately.

Chicken recipe in pepitoria from Cookery 44

Ingredients

: 1 chopped chicken;

4 boiled eggs;

1 onion;

2 cloves of garlic;

3 slices of dry loaf bread;

150 gr almonds;

400 ml chicken broth;

150 ml white wine;

5 strands of saffron;

olive oil;

Salt;

parsley

Fry the pieces of bread in a frying pan with oil.

When they turn golden, remove them and let them drain with kitchen paper.

Brown the chopped chicken in a saucepan with oil over high heat.

Remove and salt.

Add the chopped onion to the casserole and sauté over low heat until well cooked.

Meanwhile, lightly toast the saffron threads over low heat.

Transfer them to a mortar and mash them together with the garlic and fried bread.

Add the almonds and continue mashing.

Ideally, there will be some small pieces of almond left that are noticeable in the sauce.

Dip the onion in the wine and let the alcohol evaporate for two or three minutes.

Add the chicken, the broth and the mortar mixture with the almonds, and cook over low heat until the chicken is tender.

Extract the yolk from 3 eggs, crush it in a small bowl and dissolve it in a couple of tablespoons of the stew broth.

Add and move the casserole so that the sauce finishes binding.

If it is too thick, add a little broth.

Correct the salt and serve with the egg white and the chopped parsley on top.

Follow me on

Classic pepitoria, at the Chamartín Market stall in Madrid Cocineria 44.

Classic pepitoria from the Madrid restaurant De La Riva.

JC CAPEL

José de la Riva, with a plate of pepitoria in his restaurant.

Pepitoria recipe from the manuscript of the Navarrese chef Antonio Salsete.

Estimated first third of the XVIII.

JC CAPEL

'Nuevo Arte de Cocina', by Juan de Altamiras (1758 second edition).

JC CAPEL

Facsimile of the book of the Jesuits of Andalusia 1808. JC CAPEL

Facsimile of the 13th century Almohad cookbook, where the pepitoria appears.

JC CAPEL

Pepitoria according to the recipe of La Condesa de Pardo Bazán.

JC CAPEL

Dictionary of Cuisine by Alejandro Dumas.

JC CAPEL