Iberia · Volume 05, The Rías, the Feira and the Road to Santiago
Filloas
Both coast and interior
Illustration
- Time
- 1 hour
Thin, crêpe-like cakes cooked on a hot griddle, filloeira, historically stone, now more often a simple pan. A specific version, filloas de sangue, folds fresh pig's blood into the batter during the matanza itself, and this remains a genuine, still-practised rural tradition. A widely repeated claim that filloas descend from a Roman legionary preparation called phyllon does not survive checking.
As tradition built it
About 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes' batter rest.
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 500ml milk
- 100g plain flour
- a pinch salt
- 1 tbsp melted lard or butter
Method
- Whisk the eggs with the milk, flour, salt and melted lard or butter until completely smooth, and rest the batter for 30 minutes.
- Heat a well-seasoned pan or filloeira over a medium-high flame, grease lightly, and pour in a thin layer of batter, swirling to coat the pan evenly.
- Cook until the edges lift and the underside is speckled golden, about a minute, then flip and cook a further 30 seconds.
- Stack and serve either savoury, wrapped around ham and cheese, or sweet, with a little sugar or honey.
What a modern chef changes
An overnight rested batter and a temperature-controlled griddle
Method
- Rest the batter overnight in the fridge rather than for 30 minutes, letting the flour fully hydrate for a more even, tender crêpe.
- Cook on a precisely temperature-controlled electric griddle rather than a domestic hob flame, which tends to run hot at the centre and cool at the edges.
- For a savoury version, fill with a light Tetilla cheese fondue, the cheese melted gently with a splash of cream in a bain-marie rather than direct heat, which scorches its delicate, mild character.