PalmNovember was knocking its neck not long ago, the end ofThe year seemed reluctant to end because the cold weather had no room to maneuver. It was the weeks of intermittent rain that hinted at a possible change in the weather, and before we knew it, we were halfway through the last month, with the holidays being heralded everywhere. Tomorrow we begin the third Sunday of Advent, and there will only be one more before Christmas, one of the most important holidays in the Christian calendar.
Advent is the liturgical season that opens the Christian year and prepares for the celebration of Christmas. It begins four Sundays before December 25th and ends on Christmas Eve. It is, therefore, a period of about four weeks, varying according to the calendar, that invites waiting, preparation, and hope. The word 'advent' comes from the Latin 'adventus'('coming', 'arrival'). Initially, it referred both to the coming of Christ in time and to his future coming at the end of time. Traditionally, Advent was seen as a time of calm and reflection. In the Orthodox Church, Advent is a time of strict abstinence from certain foods. Here, too, it was a period of penance, considered the Lenten season of Christmas. Miquel de Binifar recounts in The hermits' kitchen (Miquel Font, 1996) that the Carthusians only ate one substantial meal during Advent and abstained from consuming eggs and dairy products.
The affirmation of life and gastronomy
After weeks of Advent, the Christmas table is a celebration of life, of family, one of the most important dates on our calendar. The holidays are closely linked to gastronomy, to abundant and leisurely family meals. Suckling pig, scaldums (a type of stew), soup, and poultry are some of the most common foods on the table during this time, as are nougat, bitter almonds, and shortbread. There were other treats that were eaten at the end of the year, but which took on different meanings during the Christmas holidays and became part of lost customs, such as flatbreads, flatbreads, thin flatbreads, or roots flatbreads. In all cases, it is a flat cake made with the leftover dough from bread making. According to the DCVB (Diccionario de la Cultura de la Vega de Básquetbol - Basque Cultural Documentation Document), a "raza" (a type of flatbread) is a cake made from the dough that sticks to the dough after bread has been baked, or a flattened, uncut cake. The prima is a flatbread, thinner than ordinary loaves and with a hole in the middle, which is baked with the other breads but removed from the oven before the crust is fully cooked. In Tortosa, however, it is a very thin, round cake made with wholemeal flour, leavened with oil and seeds, and usually with raisins or nuts. It is made for certain festivities, especially for the days of Saint Nicholas and Saint Catherine. Llabrés Recipe Book (19th century) This collection contains two recipes for "primas": the "primas de Santa Magdalena," which, in addition to yeast, includes clarified sugar and eggs, and the "prima de aceite," a much simpler recipe made by adding oil to the bread dough. Other versions utilize leftover bits from pig slaughters or are simply enriched with a little sugar, as is the case with the "prima" that Antoni Tugores includes in Campanet for his work. A memory of Mallorcan cuisineAccording to Father Ginard, in Inca it was customary for women to hide this type of cake under their shawls to attend the Calenda sermon. The children, wide-eyed, believed the sermonist was throwing them down from above. Then the women, taking advantage of the situation, would throw them on the ground, and the children would eat them right there, unaware of the deception. The cakes, seemingly sent from heaven, must have made Mass more entertaining and easier for the little ones to carry, who at that hour must have been thinking more about the sweets than the preachers.
Oil premiums
Dissolve the yeast in the water and add the two tablespoons of flour. Let it rest for a few hours or until it starts to ferment.
Mix the sourdough starter with the eggs. Dissolve the yeast in half a cup of water and pour it into the eggs. Add the flour and knead the dough as if you were washing clothes. Break the dough into pieces and then put them back together. Continue kneading, add a drizzle of oil, knead for a few more minutes, and let it soften. Divide the dough into pieces of about 75g each. Shape each piece into a ball and flatten it slightly.
We will put the balls in a basin and let them soften until they double in volume.
Bake at 170ºC for about 10-15 minutes and take them out when they start to brown.
Ingredients
For the sourdough starter
25 g of yeast
l 25 g of water
l 2 tbsp of strong flour
To make the premiums
l The mother yeast
750 g of strong flour
150 g of clarified sugar
5 eggs
l Oil
Today's recipe is a version of the olive oil cousins published by Tomeu Arbona in Traditional Mallorcan pastriesIt is a simple formula where the only drawback is the cold when washing.
