Kaoutar
Today we’re taking us to discover decidedly Mediterranean flavors, and places beaten by the sun, such as Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal to get to know their dessert
reasons to enjoy a dessert
- Whether it’s Italian, French, or wherever you want, you deserve to enjoy a delicious dessert. There are plenty of reasons to do so, and even science supports us:
- If your dessert has chocolate, this could help reduce your risk of heart disease. According to Harvard University, a small portion of dark chocolate reduces pressure.
- And believe it or not. dessert helps you lose weight! One study confirmed that if you pay more attention to what you eat, you will tend to eat less. Do you remember the little hole you always want to leave for dessert? That’s what we’re talking about.
- Another study proposes that dessert can help stave off nighttime cravings, as long as you eat it after mealtime.
- Every year, October 14 is celebrated as National Dessert Day in the United States. we want to make a very special tribute to these sweet products that we love, and present the most typical Mediterranean desserts of the territory.
typical Mediterranean desserts
- Catalan cream
Catalan cream, as its name suggests, has its origin in Catalonia. It is a sweet, which serves as a dessert, made from a pastry cream that has egg yolk as its main ingredient.
To give it a more crunchy touch, the surface is covered with a layer of caramelized sugar, and thus the contrast between the creaminess of the dessert and the crispy layer is more attractive.
Catalan cream can be found in most restaurants in the Catalan region, although it has spread and today can be consumed throughout the Spanish territory. It is very common to eat it on St. Joseph’s Day (March 19)
- French toast
Torrijas are one of the most typical desserts of Spanish cuisine. It is curious its humble origin, since they began to be made in order to take advantage of the slices of bread from previous days that were staying hard.
And it is that the torrijas are nothing more than slices of bread soaked in milk, battered with egg, and fried in oil. Other ingredients are also used to sweeten them, such as cinnamon, sugar, or honey.
It is a very common Spanish dessert at Easter since it is very typical to eat it during Lent.
- Ensaimada
The ensaimada is a typical Balearic dessert. Who of those who has gone to one of the Spanish Mediterranean islands has not returned with an ensaimada under his arm?
It is a dough made mainly with flour, water, pork dough, sourdough and sugar. It has been made in the Balearic Islands for a long time and this makes it one of the most traditional Spanish desserts.
- Sobaos pasiegos
The sobaos pasiegos have a well-known origin: Cantabria. It is a well-known dessert in Spain and that usually enchants the most lamineros.
Its name is due to the area in which they are made, the Pas Valley, one of the best known in the Cantabrian region.
In the original and primitive recipe, sobaos pasiegos were made from bread dough, but for more than a century they have been prepared with flour, as we know and consume them today. It would be a gastronomic crime to go through Cantabria and not try its delicious sobaos pasiegos.
- Rice pudding
Rice pudding is one of those desserts that any menu of any Spanish restaurant includes in its menu.
Although it has spread throughout the territory and is now considered one of the most typical Spanish desserts, its true origin is Asturias, who inherited this recipe from the Arabs. So it seems that rice pudding has a few centuries of history.
Guess its main ingredients? Correct! Rice and milk are the basis of any dessert of these characteristics, and the secret is that the texture is perfect: neither very brothy nor very consistent.
- Flan
The flan is another of the Spanish desserts that we can most commonly find, elaborate, and consume anywhere.
Perhaps the most common type of flan is egg custard, but in recent years other variants such as vanilla, coffee, or cheese flan have spread.
Its light texture makes it a typical dessert and not very forceful to put the finishing touch to a meal made in Spain.
- Filloas
Filloas is a very typical dessert in Galicia, although the León and in León and Asturias are also very common. Its appearance closely resembles a French crepe, although unlike these, filloas are not made with whole wheat flour.
In addition, its filling is almost always sweet, as it should be in a dessert. Although sometimes they are simply sweetened with sugar and … to eat!
- Quesada
Cantabria leaves us with another of the most consumed sweet delicacies: quesada. A cheese-based dessert that is the delight of cheese and sweet lovers.
The type of cheese used for cheese is fresh, combined with eggs, butter, cinnamon, lemon, and sugar. The result? One of the most delicious Spanish desserts in our gastronomy.
- Custard
Custard is another of the Spanish desserts with more history and tradition. And it is said that they exist since Roman times, so we must thank them in part that today we can taste this wonderful dessert.
The icing on the custard is shaped like a cookie and is placed on top of them, to give a more solid touch to this dish. Custard is usually vanilla, although the sweet tooth can also take it from chocolate.
- Sicilian Cassata.
The Sicilian dessert par excellence is the symbol of the region and of the culinary art in the world. The cassata now defined as a classic is actually subsequent to the baked cassata, which we will talk about shortly; while maintaining the inside of sugar and ricotta, it is covered with sponge cake and royal pasta, invented in Norman times by the pastry chefs of the church of Martorana.
- Almond parfait.
Concluding a lunch with an almond parfait is ideal for leaving a sweet taste in the mouth that lasts throughout the day. The almond parfait brings into play this fundamental element of Sicilian cuisine, almonds, creating a semifreddo widespread, especially in Palermo. The recipe includes eggs, cream, and almonds, with toppings of hot chocolate that accompanies in perfect contrast the cold temperature of the parfait.
