In the days leading up to Christmas, the oven would be lit and the house would fill with a familiar and delicious aroma. The pastries would take on color as we sat down to eat, our mouths watering at the mere thought of the filled pastries we loved so much. Some people made pastries or cocarrois all year round, and in the blink of an eye, the dough would be ready and the filling warm. But in our house, we followed the rhythm of the seasons and the holidays, so the corresponding dishes were highly anticipated and eaten with gusto and relish.
Although today pastries are almost exclusively associated with Christmas, in several towns in Mallorca, especially Muro and Llubí, it was customary to make them at Christmas as well. This practice is closely linked to the pig slaughter, as a way to use and enjoy the fresh meat, the newly made sausages, or the freshly rendered lard. Pastries are also associated with celebration and sharing a meal with family.
Christmas is one of the richest times of year in our gastronomy, with very representative dishes that are almost exclusively eaten during this period. Others are eaten year-round, but are reworked and adapted to become part of the Christmas season, such as panadas (a type of savory pie), Christmas soups, or Christmas fried fish.
Christmas soups are a variation of soups enriched with a stuffing made inside a cruet and boiled in the broth that scalds the vegetables and bread. In the book She wants soup. In their 2017 book, Maria Contestí and Antoni Contestí mention that the dish was characteristic of stately homes, but much more elaborate than simple soups because the filling had to be prepared beforehand. Leftover filling from Christmas meals could also be used. Then, once the vegetables were cooked, layers of filling and bread were made, topped with the vegetables, and scalded with broth. Today, it is still part of the Christmas menu in some villages in the Tramuntana mountains.
Christmas Fried
Christmas fried food is simply a dish made with the offal of a suckling pig. This offal, milder in flavor than the offal of a pig, is chopped very small and fried with onion, wedges of artichokes, potatoes, fennel, and hot pepper. A memory of Mallorcan cuisine (Antoni Tugores, 2004) add paprika and spring onion. Another fried dish that was traditionally cooked around Christmastime is fried chicken tenders. According to Antònia Mascaró, who was born and lived in Cas Bernat, in the heart of the Tramuntana mountains, the dish was made with the bellies, livers, hearts, and egg whites of the hens. Then the chicken segment, onion, and vegetables were added. This resourceful cooking became an admirable solution for using up offal and less desirable parts of animals.
Christmas cuisine is one of the most vibrant expressions of our gastronomic tradition. Through its dishes, many of which originate from using up leftovers and from the traditional pig slaughter, it showcases a way of cooking that combines festivity with practicality and a love for food.
Scalded pasta bread
We'll cut the meat into small pieces and mix it with the spices, salt, a drizzle of oil, and good pepper to taste. We'll set it aside.
Cut the artichoke hearts into small pieces (larger pieces can break the pasta), the wedges, and the leek into cubes. Mix the vegetables and warm them with the sea pepper, allspice, salt, and a drizzle of oil. Set aside.
You can prepare the filling the day before so that it develops more flavor.
Sift the flour. Place the water and oil in a tall saucepan and put it on the stove. When it boils, add 500g of flour and stir until it's fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly in a bowl. Add the remaining flour and knead until you have a smooth dough. The dough should be elastic and easy to handle, so add water if needed.
I divided the dough into 75g portions (it's best if they aren't too big). From each portion, I'll make a small ball that will be the lid. We'll fill them with a layer of vegetables, two pieces of sobrasada, and a layer of meat. It's important to fill them well because they will shrink in the oven. We'll cover them with the lid and seal them by pinching the edges. Bake for 40 minutes at 180ºC and let them cool on a wire rack.
Ingredients
For the pasta
900 g of flour
l 350 g of water
300 g of oil
For the filling
1 boneless chicken thigh
l 1 chicken quarry
1 500g of pork from the neck part
6 artichokes
l 4 grills
1 leek (the white part)
Sobrasada cut into cubes
l Chula of the belly cut into cubes
Pepper on board
Oil, salt, good pepper