Abrantes Straw
A golden bale of straw hiding a heart of egg yolk and almond.
- Origin
- Convent origin · Convento da Graça (Our Lady of Grace), Abrantes
- Region
- Abrantes
- Season
- Year-round
The Palha de Abrantes is a small convent sweet of about four centimetres, presented in the shape of a hedgehog or a little bale of straw. Inside lies a soft filling of egg yolk worked with ground almond; outside it is clad in coiled egg threads lightly scorched in a hot oven, giving it the colour of toasted straw and its name.
It is served in individual fluted paper cases, sold by the dozen in cardboard boxes, as the tradition of Abrantes confectionery demands. It is a small but intense mouthful, eaten in one go, ideally at the end of a meal or alongside a coffee.
It is considered the gastronomic symbol of Abrantes, displayed with pride in the windows of the town's pastry shops, in the heart of the Ribatejo, at the gateway to the Alentejo.
- Egg yolks
- Sugar
- Water
- Ground almond
- Egg threads (fios de ovos)
- Lemon zest
- Cinnamon
Very sweet and deeply rich, the unctuous yolk and almond-flecked core held together within; outside, the toasted egg threads add a dry, caramelised note that cuts the sweetness with a faint burnt-sugar aroma.
The balance of yolk, almond and egg threads shifts from one pastry shop to another, with more or less almond-forward versions and some scented with lemon zest or a cinnamon stick in the syrup. The shape stays true to the little hedgehog of golden threads.
The right place is Abrantes itself and the pastry shops of the Médio Tejo region, where the Palha is sold by the dozen in paper boxes. Seek out long-established local houses that have made it for decades; it is also a fixture at the area's convent-pastry fairs and tastings.
Calls for a short, strong espresso to balance the sweetness, or a glass of Moscatel or Port to round off a meal.
Like so many Portuguese sweets, the Palha de Abrantes was born in the town's convents, with its origin attributed to the Convent of Nossa Senhora da Graça, of the Dominican Order, at a time when yolks were in surplus: egg whites were used to starch and gloss cloth, while sugar and almonds were plentiful in the convent kitchens. The story goes that women from Rio de Moinhos, washerwomen for the city, rendered services to the nuns and, winning their confidence, eventually obtained the recipes that later passed beyond the convent walls.
The name is tied to the very geography of Abrantes. A river-trading post on the Tagus, the town was a required stop for the straw that came up from the Alentejo bound for Lisbon's stables — hence the saying "if you want straw, go to Abrantes". The golden, scorched egg threads evoke precisely those bundles of straw, and the sweet became the emblem of the town.
Sources: tradicional.dgadr.gov.pt · turismo.cm-abrantes.pt · mediotejo.net · ncultura.pt
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