Pampilhosa Hand-Stretched Fritter
Also known as: Pampilhosa Hand-Stretched Fritter
A yeast-raised fritter rich in eggs, aguardente and olive oil, hand-stretched and fried with a deep centre.
- Origin
- Pampilhosa da Serra · Coimbra
- Region
- Pampilhosa da Serra · Coimbra
- Season
- Christmas · mountain fairs and festivals
Filhó Espichada is a large, round and highly voluminous fritter with tall borders around a deep irregular centre. Its dough combines flour, many eggs, sugar, grape-pomace aguardente, yeast, olive oil and aromas that may include cinnamon, aniseed and orange.
After proving for three to four hours, small portions are ‘stretched’ with olive-oiled hands and fried until golden. The borders become crisp while the interior reveals a yellow, open, fibrous and fluffy structure.
- wheat flour
- sugar
- eggs
- grape-pomace aguardente
- baker's yeast
- water
- olive oil
- salt
- cinnamon
- aniseed
- orange juice and zest
- frying oil
Egg-rich dough with light aguardente and citrus notes, olive oil and spices, contrasting a toasted border with a fluffy centre.
Cinnamon, aniseed and orange vary from parish to parish. Some families finish with cinnamon sugar while others serve the fritter plain.
At the Filhó Espichada Festival during Natal Serrano, the Crafts and Gastronomy Fair, and by order from local food businesses and social institutions.
Rustic boiled coffee or medronho aguardente.
Made in villages throughout Pampilhosa da Serra municipality, Filhó Espichada passes mountain techniques of kneading, proving and stretching between generations. Old rituals protected the rise: eggshells were kept and the trough was covered with blankets and a pair of men's trousers, symbolising the vigour desired for the dough.
Today it is a municipal identity food. It has its own festival within Natal Serrano, with all eight parishes participating, and is also promoted at the August Crafts and Gastronomy Fair.
Sources: visitarganil.pt · visitregiaodecoimbra.pt · cm-pampilhosadaserra.pt · aldeiasdoxisto.pt
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