Gachas – the ancestral dish of central and southern Spain.
The recipe for what is a type of porridge is composed of toasted flour and then cooked in water. It requires a special type of flour called in Spanish, almortas which is also called “titos“, “pebbles” along with peas, pork belly, garlic, paprika, oil and salt.
The flour of almortas or titos, comes from the plant, the blue pea (Lathyrus sativus). Unfortunately this particular pea flour is not easy to obtain outside the region of Castilla la Mancha. Commercially, it is often mixed with wheat, because of its toxicity associated with the flour- almorta and known as lathyrism.
History Of The Dish
Originally it was the food of shepherds and country people, consumed especially in the cold days of winter because it offers plenty of nutritional energy. Having consumed this in Spain in the winter months, it is not surprising that it works so well to keep the cold out. My brother’s mother-in-law also made a form of gachas which was available all year round to keep out the Midland chill. In Spain, this dish is popularly consumed in a circle around the “perol” or pan that has been used for the preparation, with a spoon or with a simple piece of bread.
Las gachas manchegas son una de las recetas tradicionales de esta región, una manera realmente deliciosa de reencontrarse con el pasado y disfrutar de un plato típico. Las gachas son en definitiva un plato de reaprovechamiento para conseguir incluir en la sartén todo aquello de lo que se disponía. En este caso, se trata de una receta que se solía preparar en época de matanza, momento en que la carne de cerdo más abundaba en todas las casas.
tried this in Spain when I was on hols in Toledo. Not the easiest porridge to get down but I can see why you would eat it if you didn’t have anything else to guzzle on. had to add a load of treacle to make it sweet enough to get down – it’s not really the done thing !