Manjar blanco - an almost Pinedo recipe

Encarnación Pinedo did not give a recipe for manjar blanco - but she did write about it in some of her recipes.  She referred to it as an appropriate filling for empanandas (pg 113).  She also used it as a description of a physical characteristic while cooking a thick mixture, as in punto de manjar blanco.  This translates to "the point of blancmange," and that tells us what we need to know to find out more.

That physical characteristic is described as:  The liquid no longer drips or runs like milk off the spoon. It falls slowly in heavy, thick ribbons that hold their shape for a moment on the surface of the mixture before fading back into the rest of the mixture. Dragging a spoon along the bottom reveals the bottom but the mixture floods back after a few seconds.

I have achieved this at times without knowing what it was called.  For example, when I made this cajeta recipe in February 2024, the picture below shows the ribbons holding their shape: 

https://pinedo1898.blogspot.com/2024/02/milk-and-pineapple-cajeta.html

This was the right point for manjar blanco, which was also right for the cajeta because the same characteristic is labeled punto de cajeta.

Now we know that manjar blanco needs to be a thick mixture.  But made out of what?  The word blancmange is French for "white food."  And it is a classic recipe.  I wanted to know how it was interpreted in Pinedo's time and culture.  I turned to a book we know she consulted for some of her recipes, Novisimo Arte de Cocina. 

Published in 1852.  

On page 145 of Novisimo is recipe number 86:

 

This translates to:

This is made with twelve quarts of milk, three pounds of sugar, one pound of ground and sifted rice, a cooked chicken breast, salt ground on a clean metate, orange blossom water and the usual point.

I really didn't want to make this with twelve quarts of milk, so I chose to use one quart of milk and adjusted the others accordingly.

My Redaction

1 quart milk  

4 ounces sugar

2 ounces rice

2 ounces cooked chicken breast

a dash of salt

a splash of orange blossom water

Not too many ingredients at all!

Grind rice in a coffee grinder that is reserved only for spices, then sift through a fine sieve to remove the largest particles. (You can grind the large particles more if you'd like.)

Chop and then grind the chicken in a mortar until it resembles a paste.

Put the milk in a saucepan.  Dissolve the sugar and salt in the milk.

Add some of the milk to the chicken breast, pound some more to make it more of a paste.  Then push it through a coarse sieve to remove any chunks.  Push it right into the rest of the milk.  *The goal is to not have any chunks.*

Mix the chicken into the milk thoroughly.

Whisk the rice into the milk in stages - adding small amounts and whisking well in between. 

Begin heating the milk over medium low heat (I used 4 out of 10).  Whisk it often.  This helps avoid a "skin" from the milk from forming on the surface.

Cook until thick (see description above).  Add orange blossom water at the very end.

Total cooking time was about 20 minutes. 

Refrigerate the mixture, covered, if you want it to be cold. 

Ground rice above and rejected pieces below.

Chopped chicken breast, ready for pounding.

Pounded, ready to be sieved.

Being pushed through the sieve, after pounding with milk.

Keep stirring that mixture!

 My Notes

If you really want to be authentic, you can grind the rice by hand.  I did not.  : )

The chicken breast needs to be very finely ground.  I pushed it through the coarse sieve to get out any bits that didn't grind well, and I was glad I did.  This recipe is supposed to be smooth. 

If you love orange blossom water as I do, you can add a few splashes.  I was taking this dish to share at a gathering, so I restrained myself.

When it was cooking, I kept looking for the correct punto.  I wasn't sure if I should expect it to show in the hot mixture or, like jellies, in a small amount that is somewhat cooler.  I really should have known because I have studied the physical characteristics as part of Pinedo's book, but I chose to use the smaller amount.  This was my mistake.

What I did was put a spoonful into a small bowl and let it cool for a minute, then I dragged a spoon through it.  It looked to be at the point of blancmange.  I should have kept cooking the mixture in the pan until it reached that point.

When I thought I had reached the right point, I poured the mixture into a bowl.  Drops that fell onto the surface stayed on top, briefly. (See the picture.)

Then I covered the bowl and popped it into the refrigerator.

See?  The drops stayed on top for a little bit!

 The Verdict

I took this mixture to a gathering (one where people know me enough to expect something "different" in my contribution).  I always put a paper with my dish listing the ingredients - quite often this gathering has vegetarians and vegans who attend and they need to know what they might be eating.

First, I liked it, but I felt it wasn't thick enough.  It was too soupy, okay not runny (see the picture) but too soft.

Thicker than soup but not thick enough. I can see granulation that I didn't like.

I liked the flavor, although my taste buds wanted more of the orange blossom water.  That's just me!  I love the scent!

I also felt that the rice wasn't fully cooked - I kept thinking I felt a little grit or "lack of smoothness" on my tongue.

But I did ask the members of the gathering to give me feedback.  Everyone who talked to me said they liked it.  They liked the texture, thickness, flavor, and sweetness.  

Here's the thing:  Not very many people gave me feedback - fewer than usual at this gathering.  And I noticed that not much of the mixture was taken, so fewer tried it. After the gathering's host took what he wanted to keep (he really liked it), I took the rest home.

So while I would call this a success, I chide myself for not cooking it further to the true punto de manjar blanco.  If I were to do it again, I would cook it longer, perhaps to at least 30 minutes, and check for the physical characteristic of the mixture in the pan.

 

Pollos en pebre gachupin - Chickens in gachupin pebre (pg 208)

I'm really enjoying the stews that Encarnación Pinedo included in her book, El Cocinero Español.  The flavors are intriguing with combinations I haven't tried before.

Today I tried Pollos en pebre gachupin, on page 208.  Today the term "gachupin" is derogatory.  It started off as purely descriptive, used for Spaniards who left the Iberian peninsula to immigrate to the Americas.  But often those people had political or powerful connections.  When they arrived, they would have high-placed jobs waiting for them.  This, of course, was irritating to the people who were born and lived there.  It is understandable that the term started having negative connotations.

Did Miss Pinedo intend it to be an insult?  I doubt it.  First, why name a tasty food after someone you don't like?  Also consider that a pebre, while today is considered to be a Chilean condiment with pepper, vinegar, oil and chiles, also has culinary roots in Spain.  In Catalan, it means a sauce that has pepper, vinegar, and other spices.  Pinedo's family on her mother's side were from Spain (we think Basque) and her father was from Ecuador.  Recipes she included in her book reach far back into her European heritage.  Her maternal grandparents could have brought the recipe with them when they traveled from Mexico to the San Francisco area in the 1770s, when "gachupin" was not yet a bad word.

I conclude that the recipe refers to a sauce that uses pepper and has connections to Spain and does not intend an insult to anyone.  Perhaps her family brought it with them from Spain or got it from someone who had arrived from there. 

 You can see that the sauce she specifies to cook the chicken in has connections to Chile -- oil and vinegar -- and also to Spain because it is a simmer sauce and not a dip or condiment.

 Her Recipe

 

 My Translation

 

My Redaction 

2 to 3 pound whole chicken, boiled or otherwise cooked

1 tablespoon peppercorns

1 tablespoon coriander (seeds)

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon chile flakes

2 medium onions

1 cup olive oil

1 cup white wine vinegar

3 cloves garlic

1 cup loosely packed parsley leaves

I decided not to use the oregano.

Skin and debone the chicken, then chop into bite-sized pieces.

Grind the peppercorns and coriander in a mortar until fine.  Add the salt and chile flakes; grind again.

Peel and chop the onions.  Peel and mince the garlic.  Finely chop the parsley.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Cook onions in it until clear. 

Add the garlic and parsley; cook for 1 more minute.

Add the vinegar and stir well.  Bring the mixture to a simmer, then simmer it for about 2 minutes.

Add the chicken and 2 tablespoons of the spice mix.

Mix well, bring to a simmer, lower the heat and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Put the cover on the pan if the mixture appears to be drying out quickly.

When the cooking is done, add 1 more tablespoon (or whatever is left) of the spice mix and stir well.

Serve!

Chunks o'chicken.

Finely ground spices.

The simmer sauce.  Everything but the chicken and spice mix.

Now everything.  Ready to simmer.

It seemed more juicy once cooked.

My Notes

I previously cooked my chicken by bringing a kettle of water to a boil, adding the bird, bringing it to a boil for 3 minutes, then covering the pan and turning off the heat and letting it set for 2 hours.  This was done the day before, so the bird was cold when I starting making this recipe.

My cooked chicken weighed nearly 3 pounds; when I was done separating the meat from the bones and skin, I had about 2 1/2 pounds of just meat.

I had read up on pebres because I wasn't sure what spices I should use; I saw that chiles, black pepper, coriander, and maybe fresh oregano were ingredients.  I thought I would use oregano (that's why it's in the picture) but then changed my mind.  Also, I wasn't sure if the coriander meant the seeds or the leaves (cilantro) but chose to use the seeds because I wanted to grind them with the peppercorns.

I had to choose an oil, and since it was a primary ingredient of the sauce, I chose olive oil for the flavor. I also had to choose the vinegar, and white wine vinegar seemed to be both flavorful and not too acidic.  I thought it would complement the chicken meat.

I decided to add the vinegar after cooking the onions, garlic, and parsley in the oil.  It seemed that the goal was to get their flavors infused in the oil first.  

I thought that 2 tablespoons of the spice mix would be enough, and it tasted good when the cooking was done.  However, I thought about how cooking can reduce the impact of spices, and a pebre is really supposed to be "pepper-forward" and spicy.  That's why I added more spice mix afterwards - adjusting the spices to taste.

Keep in mind that when Miss Pinedo says "and then it is seasoned," she means cook the dish until the flavors meld and mature.

 The Verdict

I served it with white rice and cauliflower.  The cauliflower recipe was a repeat of Pinedo's, with butter sauce; you can view the recipe by clicking here.  And wine.  Don't forget the wine!

The cauliflower is not in the picture.

A nice combination in the bowl.

My guest taster and I enjoyed it very much.  The chicken was cooked and moist and tender.  The sauce had an oily mouthfeel, but not greasy.  It was tasty and not off-putting.  The spices were strong enough to make us taste them:  a bit of a chile kick but the other flavors were there, too, so they had a nice balance.  The vinegar countered the oily feeling with a bit of an acidic taste, which was also pleasant. I think the pepper flavor was the most dominant but not overwhelming the other flavors in the mix.

Two other guest tasters tried the leftovers.  One agreed that the flavors were good and not too strong.  She felt that there was lemon in it (that was the vinegar, I think).  The other said it was "yummy," but really didn't get the chile kick - which it not surprising since he likes strong chile flavors.  He thought it had wine in the mixture.

It made enough that there were leftovers for several meals, which we always served with rice.  It reheated well and tasted yummy each time.

Success!

It was easy and fast, because you start off with cooked chicken.  I made it again, starting with raw boneless, skinless thighs cut into chunks, and I also added the spices to the oil and vinegar mix while it was simmering.  I cooked it the same amount.  The finished look was a little different because the meat didn't look as "shredded" as it did the first time.  The chunks looked rounder.  The sauce was juicier.  But the taste was still the same.  Double success!

UPDATE:  I took the second attempt to a gathering, where it was well received. I suggest using less oil and vinegar, especially if you are starting with raw chicken.  I had a lot of liquid, only took about a third of it, and still thought it was too much.    

 

Errors and Old Cooking - comments on Pinedo's recipes

As much as you might proofread your own writing, it seems like errors can manage to sneak by.  This is true even if you have other people reading your writing.  And the longer the document, the more likely an error will occur.

This was as true in 1898 when Encarnación Pinedo published her cookbook, El Cocinero Español, as it is today.  When I read through her book, I wasn't always sure if an error was hers (a writing error) or the printer's (a typesetting error).  

In some cases, I guessed it was the printer's fault.  For example, I came across "sicura" on page 73 and spent a long time trying to track down the meaning of that Spanish word.  Well, it's not a Spanish word.  But the word "cisura" is, and it means "opening."  This worked well within the context of the recipe.  This, I think, was made when the book was typeset (remember, no word processors or autocorrect back then!); they switched the c and the s.

 

 

On the other hand, on page 129, the second recipe for Stuffed Eggs has a very confusing direction.  After the hard-boiled eggs are stuffed - like the ever-popular Deviled Eggs but with a more complex stuffing - a bird feather is supposed to brown the eggs.

 A bird feather?  

This is when I think she made a writing error.  When you have about 880 recipes, this can happen.

Looking at the recipe as a whole, you recognize that the feather is the mistake, as evidenced by the instructions, "Put them in the dish when they have taken color" - that is, when they have browned.

 

  

This is where a knowledge of Old Cooking comes in handy.  In the days before ovens with broiler elements, one way to achieve the browning was using a salamander.  It is a metal disk with a long handle.  It is heated in the fire, then held over food.  Its heat acts like a modern broiler, browning crumbs, melting cheese, and whatever else you need to have cooked from above.

Here's a picture:

http://www.fightingquakerforge.com/uploads/1/3/3/0/13300957/2845458_orig.jpg 

I hope to acquire one some day, just for the fun of showing it off and, of course, to use it in my historical cooking demonstrations.

Further investigation helped me feel more confident of my change, because I found a German recipe that is very similar to her recipe: Eier gefüllt und gebraten.  Here, the stuffing is comprised of cooked yolks, with flavorings such as mustard and herbs, and is bound with soaked breadcrumbs and/or raw yolks, and then the filled eggs are fried stuffing-side-down or baked.  Once that is done, shredded cheese is put on top and the eggs are broiled or oven-baked to melt the cheese.  Some versions suggest making some sauce to put over the top.

I'm convinced Pinedo's recipe is a version of the German recipe, and no feather is needed to brown the stuffing.

There are more errors in her book, but nothing Earth-shattering. Items such as a simple misspelling, and instructions that appeared to be put in the wrong recipe.  Most everything is well written. 

Carne asada en la olla de los misioneros - Roast meat in the missionaries' pot (pgs 52 - 53)

After having tried the Adobo seco recipe last month, I wanted to try another meat recipe from Pinedo's book.  Click here to see the previous recipe.

This time I had a two-pound beef roast.  What I found was a recipe on pages 52-53 titled Carne asada en la olla de los misioneros.  It looked easy, but I learned from the last recipe that getting the spicing/herbs just right is the challenge.  Challenge accepted!

Her Recipe

 

My Translation

My Redaction

2 pound beef roast
12 costeño chiles
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  

Thinly slice the garlic.  

Cut slits in the meat deep and wide enough for the garlic slices to fit. (I skipped the lardons.  See my note below.)

Insert garlic into slits in the meat.

Pour oil into the bottom of a heavy Dutch oven and spread it around.

Put the meat in the Dutch oven, cover with the lid, then put into the oven for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove the seeds and cores of the chiles.  Toast the chiles in a hot, dry pan until browned with maybe a few black patches, stirring or turning them often to toast them evenly.

Remove chiles to a bowl and cover with hot water.  Allow them to soak until soft.  

If you haven't already, finely chop the oregano.

Once the chiles are ready, put them and some (or all) of the soaking water into a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Add the oregano and blend a few seconds more to mix.

When the 30 minutes is up on the meat, pour the sauce over the top of it.  Turn the meat and spoon the sauce over the top if needed.  Put the lid back on the Dutch oven and bake for another 20 minutes.

When done, let the meat rest for a few minutes.  Slice thinly and serve with a few spoonfuls of sauce over the slices.  The rest of the sauce can go in a small pitcher that goes on the table with the meat. 

 My Notes

Lardons are thin strips of fat that are inserted into the meat so that they melt into it while cooking.  They are a great way to keep the meat moist.  I didn't have any, although if I had thought about it enough, I probably could have used raw bacon fat.  That would add salt to the flavor.

My garlic clove was big, so after slicing it, I cut each slice in half.  That made it easy to put into the slits and not have them sticking out.  I used less than the whole clove.  I would guess my slits were 1 to 2 inches apart on all sides of the roast.

Tuck that garlic in!

 My chile sauce measured 1 1/2 cups when done.  I hoped it was "scant" enough.  

When the meat came out after 30 minutes of cooking, the center was at about 100 degrees F.  After the second round of cooking, it was 145 degrees F.  I considered that done.

That much fresh oregano. (I liked the picture!)

After the Round 1 cooking time.

Rolled that chunk o'meat in the sauce, and spooned on more.

After Round 2 of cooking.

I think that is perfect!

Ready for the table.

The Verdict

I served it with some roasted potatoes dressed with a little shredded asiago cheese;  steamed zucchini tossed with garlic powder, pepper, and salt; and wine.  Don't forget the wine!

The meat was a little more chewy than I had expected.  My guest taster agreed but did not see it as a negative.  To me, beef tends to be chewy and that usually disappoints me, so I have a hard time judging it.

The sauce was pleasantly spicy-hot, not too much for my guest taster who typically does not like spicy.  I got a little tingle on my tongue from each bite, which I enjoyed.  It did not set my mouth on fire.  (Whew!  The costeños are hotter than what I am used to, so I usually mix them with less fiery chiles.  But I am learning that cooking can reduce the fire a bit. )

The garlic and oregano were not dominant.  I believe the sauce was close to being balanced, but I think I would add more oregano next time.  I could barely taste them; I wasn't even sure I was tasting them.  My guest taster said he could get the herbal notes of the oregano.   

Also, I think I could have used less sauce for the second round of cooking.  Maybe 1 cup? It could have been more robust in flavor, which makes me think "watered down" implies "too much liquid."

If I had cooked the meat at a lower temperature, say 300 degrees F, that might have made the meat less chewy.  It would just take longer. 

We enjoyed the meal, so I call it a success!  We both poured on more sauce as we were eating the beef. Again, that added flavor and chile-heat but not too much.

I shared some of the leftovers with another favored guest taster who really likes hot and spicy chiles.  He has a discerning palate and has different food preferences than I have, so I really appreciate his take on things. He thought the meat was cooked just right.  However, he could not discern much taste from the sauce.  At all.  Not from the chiles or from the oregano.  So the sauce was a bust for him.  If you have guests who are similar, bump up the oregano quite a bit and reduce the amount of water used to make the sauce.  Maybe even reduce the sauce somewhat before serving, just to concentrate the flavor.  At least, that is my best guess.

Adobo seco - Dry marinade (pg 4)

I had a boneless pork loin just asking for a Pinedo recipe.  I liked the challenge of this one, on page 4, which was "cook enough red chiles."  Hmmm.  How much was enough?  For my redaction, I needed to balance the heat of the chiles (not too many!) with the flavor of the chiles (not too few!).  I have a bag of costeño chiles, which I was cautioned to be careful with because I am not as experienced a chile-eater as the person who gave it to me.  I'm getting better, but I heed the caution.

Her Recipe

My Translation

My Redaction

3 pounds, 14 ounces boneless pork loin

0.8 ounces costeño chiles (dry)

1 pound tomatoes

1 tablespoon garlic

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil for frying

And the olive oil.

Remove the stems, seeds, and cores of the chiles.  Cover them with boiling water and let them soak for 10 minutes to soften them.

Core and coarsely chop the tomatoes.  Grind them in a large mortar (or pulse them in the blender) until the mixture is wet and not as chunky as they were after they were chopped.

Grind the cumin seeds.

Drain the chiles.  Grind them with the tomatoes.  

Add the garlic and cumin.  Grind them more.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven.  Add the chile/tomato mixture and the vinegar.  Mix well and bring to a boil.  Add the meat and turn it over to get the sauce on both sides.  Then ladle sauce over the top of the meat.  

Bring the sauce back to a boil.  Turn the heat down so the sauce is simmering.  Leave the Dutch oven uncovered.

Cook the meat for about 2 hours, turning over occasionally and spooning sauce over the top.  This is how long it took for the sauce to reduce to very thick.  Adjust the heat as needed to maintain the simmer.  Turning over the meat will slow the simmer for a short time.

When done, turn off the heat and let the meat rest in the sauce for a while.

Serve slices with the sauce spooned over the top.

Chiles soaking

Coarsely chopped tomatoes

Grinding in my mortar.

Sauce in the pan and the pork loin on top.

Spoon that sauce on top!

All done.  Notice how little liquid is left in the pan.

My Notes

I used my large (ish) mortar to grind everything.  I ground half the tomatoes and put the result in a big bowl.  Then I ground the other half with the chiles.  After that was done, I added the garlic and ground it some more.  Then I repeated that with the ground cumin seeds.  Then it all went into the bowl and I mixed them together.  If I were to do this again, I would use my blender and make it more of a puree.

Since I didn't know how long it would take to cook the meat, I turned it every 20 minutes, spooning sauce over the top each time.  I think 30 minutes is better.  Since the Dutch oven is uncovered, the top of the meat seemed to be colder than the rest, so it stopped the simmer when I turned the loin.  I adjusted the heat to bring it back to a simmer.  

The sauce started getting thick but it appeared the meat juices and fat made it runny again.  Then it got thick again with more cooking.  Be careful not to scorch the sauce.  Turning the meat helped keep the bottom of it from being scorched, too.

After two hours, the internal temperature read about 150 degrees F.  

The Verdict

I was hoping that the meat wasn't overcooked, i.e., dry.  It was very mildly pink in the middle and appeared moist.

I served it as a simple dinner with green beans and wine.  

Put a little sauce over the top.

My concern was that the tomato skins and/or the chile skins would be tough and noticeable if they were bigger than what a blender would make.  That is what I was looking for when I tasted it.  I really wanted to know what my guest tasters thought of the chiles' heat levels.

One guest taster, the one who is not really into spicy foods, thought the chile heat level was just right.  He enjoyed the flavor of the sauce and thought it was good with the meat.

The other guest taster, who loves spicy food and strong flavors, thought it was not chile-hot enough and that the sauce was "sweet" from the tomatoes.  He did not really detect the costeño's much at all; he wondered if it had any chiles in it.  He also did not think the sauce had much flavor.  He compared it to some rosemary-flavored crackers which he thought did have a flavor punch and said those had flavor but the sauce did not.  Does that make sense?  

As for me, I liked the flavor, although I would agree that it was not strongly flavored.  I thought the sauce was important to moisten the meat and keep it from being "just a slice of pork loin."  So if I were to do this again, I would bump up the amount of chiles (if my first guest taster were not involved) and definitely bump up the garlic and cumin content.  Even my first guest taster would like more garlic and cumin.

One guest taster noted that the skins from the chiles and tomatoes were annoying to eat.  I agree, that was my worry, and though I didn't experience that with this dish, I have previously.  So definitely use a blender to make the sauce.  Perhaps using a mano and metate would have broken up the skins better than a mortar and pestle.  I don't know.  

Also, everyone agreed that the meat was cooked to perfection.  It was cooked enough but not dry.  I think the slow cooking and the regular turning helped that along.

The green beans with a variation on a Pinedo pipian sauce were a good accompaniment!  You can see that recipe here:  Ejotes en pipian.  I used red wine as the liquid and cinnamon and cloves as the spices.  

Success!