SC - Manual de mujeres #109,111,132,134,135

[Jon Randall]

Greetings all,

I take this moment to de-lurk, and to add some information about Spanish
Cooking.  Having a wife of spanish extraction (meaning she was liberated
from Spain <G>), we often have made and eaten Empanada or empanadillas
(little Empanadas), so can comment on both construction and dough type.

> Do you have anything about what empanadas/turnovers were--what kind
> of dough and what kind of physical construction?

Empanadas in construction can be the following:

Flat and 11 X 8 inches with a top and bottom crust. This type has the hole
in the top crust and is often decorated with bits of pastry decorated like a
tic tac toe board (without X's and 0's !), then glazed with milk or egg.

Alternatively they can be round.  The size of your Empanada is determined by
how many you need to feed, oven size and number of strong, virile men in
your village to lift it !

Empanadillas, on the other hand are small(ish), D-shaped and are made by
folding a circle of pastry in half and fluting the edge. These are useful
for taking into the fields as they are the ideal pocket snack/meal.

As for the pastry, this is a simple flour, fat (mainly olive oil), water and
salt mixture, not unlike short (crust) pastry.  You can add other
flavourings to your pastry according to whether this is a sweet or savoury
dish.
Flavourings may be Anise (aniseed) liqueur, saffron, crushed almonds
(especially in Southern Spain), and cinnamon.


> Is there a similar word in Spanish that means soft?

There is a word meaning soft "blandos" which could conceivably be the real
translation.  Remember that quinces, if left for too long will go mushy
rather than soft. Don't worry if this happens as you can alternatively make
this into quince jelly which is used as an accompaniment to meats and strong
cheeses.

Any further questions relating to Spanish cuisine or foods associated with
rituals don't hesitate to ask.

Baph (just plain Baph, not Lord Baph as this is my mundane title as well.)

with assistance from

Maria del Mar Malo Gallego (yes, yes her mundane name as well !)