Morcilla

It's how you cook it ya know!  When we stayed in Andalucia we had some fabulous Morcilla (Spanish black pudding)... and almost every weekend could be a fried breakfast treat.  However, since we came to Extremadura we have been very disappointed by the morcilla.  It seemed to just fall apart... go to crumbs and the taste was almost nothing.

As we passed a new delicatessen in our nearby town of Miajades we saw a sign proclaiming Morcilla de Guadalupe.  Oh well we could have another go at it we thought.  We were asked if we wanted piccante or dulce... (that's spicy or mild in English), we took one of each.  As the lady wrapped them up she told us to put them in simmering water for 5 to 10 minutes and then they would be excellent.  Oh!  Not fried then?  Mmmmm perhaps that is where we were going wrong!


Well it's Saturday so a brunch was organised.  Black pudding with fried eggs and my favourite mushroom mixture.  The mushrooms (have you ever seen the like?) arrived with an order from an organic veggie garden and since the order form simply said 'mushrooms' I had no idea I would get these....

Mix with apple, onion, garlic and fry until all is soft... add a little miso and pepper and then taste.  If its not sweet enough then add some balsamic vinegar... just a little.  This makes a great filo pie filling or you can add some rice or breadcrumbs and chop it all very fine and stuff it into veggie sausage casings or make burger shapes with it... very versatile mixture.

And the result?  For the black pudding I mean.  Absolutely delish!  It put me in mind of a french blood pudding and I shall never fry morcilla again!

Morcilla or Black Pudding

Winter is the season for pork and other pig products.  Traditionally the pig is killed at the start of winter and turned into all manner of yummy things many of them preserved in the old fashioned way of smoking, curing, salting or drying.  In nearly all European countries there is a tradition of turning the blood of the pig into a blood sausage or 'pudding'.  In Spain the blood pudding is called Morcilla.  It varies from region to region in Spain and even from family to family as recipes are handed down through the generations to those families who still keep pigs and observe the traditional 'Matanza' or pig killing in December or January.

So... tonight's supper is an aubergine bake with cinnamon and Morcilla, based on a recipe courtesy of Seumas MacInnes and his Stornoway Black Pudding Bible.

First cut your aubergines in half and fry in olive oil until golden and a bit wilted.  Remove the aubergines and scoop some of the flesh out of the shells and dice it.  Cut up some onion and garlic and adding a little more oil to the pan fry them slowly on a gentle heat until the onion is transparent.

Return the chopped aubergine to the pan with the onions and add a handful of parsley chopped fine, some fresh (or dried) oregano, salt, pepper and about 1/2 a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.  To this add some chopped tomatoes (or a jar of passata) a handful of currents or sultanas a pinch of sugar a squeeze of lemon juice and if using fresh tomatoes some extra tomatoe juice - I am sure if it isn't wet enough you could simply add some water and let it bubble through a bit.  And then the morcilla or black pudding chopped or crumbled up.

Once the mixture is bubbling well put the empty aubergine skins into an oven proof dish and pour the mixture on top.  Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven at 180C for about half an hour covered and then remove the foil and bake for a further ten minutes.  You could add some grated cheese to the top of this before serving if you wish.

Perfect supper dish which we had with a glass of Galician cidre chilled very cold!