Don Quixote's Saturday Meal of Eggs, Bacon and Brains

Culinary Historians of Chicago hosted Dining with Don Quixote The fabulous food of La Mancha Presented by Janet Mendel, author, Cooking From The Heart of Spain.

For the past forty years, Chicago-born freelance journalist Janet Mendel has made her home in southern Spain. Ms. Mendel’s talk highlighted the cuisine and history of Spain’s La Mancha region. La Mancha’s culinary roots are rural and pastoral but also have a rich Moorish and Sephardic heritage. Located in the center of the country, La Mancha is best known as Don Quixote’s stomping ground. It is also saffron country, home of Manchego cheese and the world’s most extensive vineyards.

Janet Mendel's talk revolved around the meals of Don Quixote, especially a listing of his typical daily fare, which sometimes required interpretation. I was especially interested in Saturday's meal of egg, bacon and lamb's brains. Janet advised the recipe in her cookbook omitted brains at the publisher's request. During question-answer period, I asked her how did she prepare the brains.

Lamb's brains are first soaked in acidified water (teaspoon vinegar added to the water to cover) for 30 minutes. Blanch the brains taking care not to cook them thoroughly. Remove the membrane surrounding the brains, then slice into the same sized bits as the bacon. Cook at the same time as bacon.

Saturday Eggs and Bacon Duelos y Quebrantos
Adapted from Cooking in the Heart of Spain, Janet Mendel

Roughly translated, duelos means “toils and travails” or “grief” (a duelo is a wake preceding a funeral too), and quebrantos means “afflictions” or “cracked.” The dish may have originated in the old custom in some places of La Mancha for shepherds to deliver to their masters any animals that died or were injured during the week. The meat was salted and dried to make sheep or goat jerky (tasajo), and the bones were cracked and cooked in the olla to make a Saturday stew thickened with eggs. Presumably, it was the master who had lost his stock who suffered the duelos --- and ate them.

3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup chopped onion
½ cup diced bacon, pancetta or fatty ham
½ cup diced Spanish soft chorizo (1 link, 2.5 ounces)
6 eggs
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
freshly ground pepper
Triangles of bread fried in olive oil for serving (optional)

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add chopped onion, bacon, (brains) and chorizo. Fry for 4 minutes.

Beat eggs with parsley. Pour eggs into the skillet, then stir until softly set. Serve promptly with a little black pepper and fried bread, if desired.

Serves 4

I talked to author afterwards about lamb brains. We learned both our first experiences with lamb brains involved the same preparation: breaded and fried served with tartare sauce. She had hers in Spain and I had mine in Zagreb, Yugoslavia.

As always I come away from Culinary Historians having learned something I didn’t expect.

Regards,