(versão portuguesa na página 2)
Hi there!
It has been a while since my (last and first) post, I know… but to make it up I have good news: my thesis is finished! Yey!
Now I have to focus on the last subjects at college and other projects, like this one =).
And what about you? Do you have news?
Your holidays went well? Were they sweet? Mine were very sweet, with my family. This pudding was part of them…
Let’s talk about sweet tooth, or pudding for a sweet tooth … yes, because this pudding is a shot of sweetness.
Don’t let yourself be fooled by using bacon on this pudding, the Abbot knew what he was doing! You barely feel the taste of pork, however, you get that incomparable taste of the yolks, wrapped with notes of Porto wine. It is velvety and melts in your mouth, vanishing. It’s divine!
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This pudding should be orange-brown and have a clean and uniform texture, without those typical little holes we get when the water finds its way inside our pan.
Its creator, Manuel Joaquim Machado Rebelo or, as he’s known, Priscos Abbot, despite the many virtues that he had, it was in the art of cooking that he has demonstrated his genius and, therefore, considered one of the greatest Portuguese cooks of the XIX century. He was also graced by His Majesty, King Luís of Portugal, with the title of Honorary Chaplain of the Real House in 1874, once the Abbot prepared great and sumptuous banquets for the royal family, prelates, ministers and aristocrats, during his lifetime.
The Priscos Abbot defended that culinary is a very beautiful art, but it entirely depends on the artist. This way, he refused to give his recipes saying:
It’s impossible to give you, along with my recipes, my fingers and my palate.
Most likely, this was the reason why there’s only one recipe from the Abbot, which is the one I’m presenting to you…
The idea of making this intense pudding emerged last Christmas season, when I finally resign to one of the numerous requests of my gluttonous, Armando, to try and do this pudding. And, after a few attempts, I thought I was able to share it with you. What do you think ??
This is a typical pudding from Braga, Portugal and it was one of the finalists at the 7 Wonders of Portuguese Gastronomy.
{This post contains affiliate links, meaning I will make a small commission from anything you buy.}
Recipe adapted from Traditional Portuguese Cooking by Maria de Lourdes Modesto.
Abade Priscos Pudding
Ingredients
Caramel
- 1 cup or 200 g sugar
- 1/2 cup or 100 ml water + 1 tbsp or 30 ml
Pudding
- 2 cups or 400 g sugar
- 2 cups or 500 ml water
- 4 slices or 40 g good smoked bacon
- 2 cinnamon stick
- 2 lemon peels without the white part
- 1/2 cup or 100 ml good Porto wine
- 15 yolks
Instructions
Caramel
- Heat sugar with a 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan over high heat, without stirring.
- When sugar reaches an amber color reduce the heat to medium. Be careful not to burn.
- As soon as it has the desired color, reduce the heat to minimum and then carefully add the remaining 1tbsp of water, stir and remove from the heat.
- Pour over the pudding pan (6.7 in, 17 cm or 1.6 liters, with lid) making sure every bit is covered with this lovely caramel.
Pudding
- Bring water to a boil, in a medium saucepan over high heat. Then add sugar, bacon finely sliced, cinnamon, lemon without the white part and a thermometer, if you have one.
- Let the syrup reach 103 ºC or 217 ºF (thin thread stage), slowly.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 250 ºC or 482 ºF, separate egg whites from the yolks and pass the yolks through a sieve.
- In another pan, heat the 1/2 cup of Porto wine over medium heat, let it reduce by half while it aromatizes your kitchen! Then remove from the heat and let it cool.
- Add the cooled reduced wine to yolks, stirring as little as possible not to lose the color of the yolks.
- When syrup reaches 103 ºC or 217 ºF remove from the heat and pass it through a sieve to remove all the other ingredients. Let it cool slightly.
- Add the yolks to the syrup, pass it through a sieve again and then pour over the pan, previously covered with caramel.
- Cover the pan with 2 sheets of aluminum foil well tighten and the lid. Place it in a recipient with water (bain-marie) and bake it in the oven for about 1 hour.
- Let it sit, on a wire rack, until it is almost cold in the center of the pan or until lukewarm in the center and then unmold.
- It's best after some hours in the fridge.
Notes
*The yolks should be fresh and not pasteurized, to not compromise the texture , color and flavor of the pudding.
*I used Tawny Porto wine.
*If needed add water to the bain-marie. I didn't need.
I had trouble understanding what was exactly the sugar stage name at 103 ºC / 217 ºF. But, I think it is the thin thread or light thread, what do you think? Do you know a reliable source for sugar stages, with temperatures?
This pudding is an authentic sin, it is the actual gluttony!
Cheers to Priscos Abbot and his pudding!
Kika
P.S. You can find the abbot’s Manuel Joaquim Machado Rebelo biography here , but it is in Portuguese, I’m sorry =/.
{This post contains affiliate links, meaning I will make a small commission from anything you buy.}
Martin @ The Why Chef
Oooh this looks gorgeous! And has plenty of caramel, which is a winner for me! I much prefer this kind of thing over dry desserts, so will be trying it soon 🙂
Kikalicious
Thanks a lot Martin! Really? Then I’m sure you’ll like it. Please share with me when you try this pudding, I’ll be happy to hear! 😀