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Gachas dulces

Name: Gachas dulces
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 6 tbsp olive oil; 100 g day-old white bread; 1 tsp aniseed; 1 strip lemon peel; 60 g plain flour; 750 ml whole milk; 90 g caster sugar; 1 pinch salt; 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Sweet aniseed flour porridge

Gachas dulces: La Mancha's sweet aniseed flour porridge with fried bread

Features:Vegetarian

Cuisine:

Spanish

On the night of 31 October and on All Saints' Day, families across La Mancha make sweet gachas: flour toasted in olive oil with aniseed, loosened with milk and sugar into a soft cream, and topped with crisp cubes of fried bread. Each person dips a spoon into the communal dish while the season's first cold nights settle in. Chef's tip: toast the flour in the oil until it smells nutty before adding any milk; raw flour tastes pasty.

Total time: 35 min
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 4

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Ingredients

Serves4

6 tbsp olive oil
3 ½ oz day-old white breadcut into 1 cm cubes
1 tsp aniseed
1 strip lemon peel
2 ⅛ oz plain flour
3 ¼ cups whole milkwarmed
3 ⅛ oz caster sugar
1 pinch salt
1 tsp ground cinnamonto dust

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Method

0/6 done

Step 1: Warm 6 tbsp olive oil in a wide pan over a medium heat and fry 3 ½ oz day-old white bread, stirring, until golden and crunchy all over, about 4 minutes. Lift out with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper.
4 min
Step 2: Lower the heat, add 1 tsp aniseed and 1 strip lemon peel to the oil and fry for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Remove the peel.
1 min
Step 3: Stir in 2 ⅛ oz plain flour and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes, until it smells toasty and turns the colour of pale sand.
4 min
Step 4: Pour in 3 ¼ cups whole milk a ladle at a time, whisking well after each. A common mistake is pouring it all at once, which leaves lumps you can't whisk out.
5 min
Step 5: Add 3 ⅛ oz caster sugar and 1 pinch salt and simmer gently, stirring often, for 10 minutes, until thick and creamy like loose custard and the floury taste has gone.
10 min
Step 6: Pour into a shallow dish or bowls, scatter the fried bread on top and dust with 1 tsp ground cinnamon. Serve warm, sharing from the middle in the old way.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 450 kcal
Protein: 10 g
Carbs: 55 g
Fat: 22 g
Fibre: 1 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does gachas dulces take?: About 35 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?: 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it vegetarian?: Yes. It has no meat or fish.
What can I use instead of aniseed?: Fennel seeds, same amount (milder).
What can I use instead of plain flour?: Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).

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