[Sca-cooks] alfajores/al-hasu

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

Suey wrote:

>     Luis Benavides Barajas in _Nueva-Clásica Cocina Andalusí_ page 265 
> provides a recipe for the what appears to him to be the most ancient 
> alfajores containing flour, eggs, yeast and butter. They are baked and 
> they can be make into any shape desired and served with one on top of 
> they other with mermelade or syrup in between. Unfortunately Benvadies 
> never gives his source but his alfajor appears to be the forefather of 
> /alfajor carioca/ found in South America today**. Covarrubias defines 
> alfajor as a Moorish pastry made with breadcrumbs, honey, /alegrías/ 
> (Prince's feather seeds I think)and spices. Antonio Nebrixensis 
> defines /alaxú/ or /alfaxú/ as preserves made with honey and bread 
> crumbs. He does not mention that the word means stuffing and 
> Benavides'are not stuffed. 

There is a recipe in the "Manual de Mugeres", a late 15th/early 16th c. 
Spanish household manual.  One recipe is "Conserva de Alhaju".  Whenever 
I make them, I describe them as honey-nut cakes.  They're made with 
crumbs*, honey, almonds and walnuts, and spices. It's a tasty recipe, 
but by no stretch of the imagination is it stuffed.

You can find an English translation here:
http://www.geocities.com/karen_larsdatter/manual.htm
...and the original Spanish here:
http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/01371074322363763092257/index.htm


* There may be other recipes that call for breadcrumbs.  This one says 
to make a firm, well-kneaded dough with flour, oil, and water; make thin 
"cakes" of it which are baked, then ground fine and sifted.  I make 
something like pie-crust with olive oil, and bake it in a large, flat 
piece on a cookie sheet.  A brief spin in the food processor produces 
very fine crumbs.


-- 

Brighid ni Chiarain
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
Robin Carroll-Mann *** rcmann4 at earthlink.net