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Los Huevos Rotos: Broken Eggs with Chistorra or Iberian Ham

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Los Huevos Rotos: Broken Eggs with Chistorra or Iberian Ham

Postby Alexandria » Wed May 23, 2018 10:41 am

The literal translation of this simple and tasty Castillian dish is " broken eggs, grief and distress " ( duelos y quebrantos ) .. To understand the roots of this dish, one must go back to the daily fare of Don Quixote, as explained by Cervantes: "Three parts of his income were consumed in food, a stew pot, duelos y quebrantos or huevos rotos, and lentils on Fridays and pigeon on Sundays" ..

Here is one of the most popular dishes in bars and taverns served throughout the Iberian Peninsula .. :thumbsup :thumbsup

Huevos Rotos .. Broken Eggs .. ( Can be prepared with Chistorra Navarre Sausages, Morcilla de Burgos ( blood sausages and / or Iberian Acorn Fed Ham or all three .. )

Serves 4:

60 Grams of bacon or pancetta diced tiny
100 Grams of ham fat diced small
100 Grams of sausage Chistorra or Blood sausage or Iberian acorn fed ham or all three divided evenly ( 33 grams of each )
6 eggs ( broken on top of the cooked sausages or ham

1) Heat the bacon or pancetta and ham fat in a skillet ..
2) When the fat starts to ooze out, add the sausages or ham .. ( drain the fat before adding the eggs )
3) Then when the sausages or ham are cooked, add the eggs cracked over the meats. ( and cook to your likeness, runny, medium or well cooked ) ..
4) Serve on a large platter made of ceramics or earthenware or slate stone ..

Serve with rustic country whole meal bread or chapata or baguette for dipping .. And a glass of red wine of choice .. :thumbsup :thumbsup

Have a lovely day .. :wave :wave
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

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Re: Los Huevos Rotos: Broken Eggs with Chistorra or Iberian

Postby Renée » Wed May 23, 2018 1:04 pm

Alexandria, I find it very interesting to read the history behind the dish. I love the combination of eggs with sausage, pancetta etc., so I will try this very soon.

Thank you! :clap :clap :clap

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Re: Los Huevos Rotos: Broken Eggs with Chistorra or Iberian

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed May 23, 2018 2:08 pm

Presumably a knight as poor as Quixote could make his huevos rotos by buying the leftove fragments of ham and morcilla as we buy bacon scraps (and indeed the end pieces of ham) in this country?
Might try with English black pudding, as I have some in the freezer

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Re: Los Huevos Rotos: Broken Eggs with Chistorra or Iberian

Postby Alexandria » Wed May 23, 2018 9:25 pm

Renée, :thumbsup :thumbsup

It is quite good coupled with some Patatas Bravas on the side ( Chips sliced in thick wedged cubes with a smoky paprika sauce ) ..

Very "castizo" ( traditional ) in classic bars and taverns .. :lol: :lol:


Thank you for all your complimentary feedback .. :wave :wave
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Re: Los Huevos Rotos: Broken Eggs with Chistorra or Iberian

Postby Alexandria » Wed May 23, 2018 9:30 pm

Sue, :D

It is a very popular dish and if you enjoy Morcilla de Burgos ( Blood Sausages ) and eggs, it is sure to please ..


Cervantes was a Professor, Scholar and Author who also taught Literature at the University of Alcalá which he founded, 26 kilometres from Madrid going north east ..

Quixote and Sancho were the " fictional characters of his best known work " .. :thumbsup :thumbsup


Have a nice evening .. :wave
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Re: Los Huevos Rotos: Broken Eggs with Chistorra or Iberian

Postby Uschi » Thu May 24, 2018 8:14 am

Our German "Bauernfrühstück" is very like that.
Bread with scrambled eggs mixed with fried Speck or lardons (alternatively "Blutwurst" (black pudding sausage) or other sausages) onions and sometimes chives or other herbs.

As for poetic names, there is "Hoppel-Poppel", a sort of fritata with leftovers.

As for the "poor knights" Sue mentioned: there is a sweet dish made with stale halved breadrolls, soaked in an egg, cream and sugar mix which are then fried. In some areas they are dusted with a mix of cinnamon and sugar and served with custard sauce.
If you want "rich knights" then you cut the rolls into thinner slices and sandwich some plum jam between them before proceeding with dipping and frying.

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Re: Los Huevos Rotos: Broken Eggs with Chistorra or Iberian

Postby Stokey Sue » Thu May 24, 2018 9:38 am

Yes Alexandria, I wouldn't of course have commented on Quixote's way of life unless I knew just who he was and expected other people to know too. Quixote is a global stereotype, and in English we have the word "quixotic" to describe certain behaviours. I read the book (in translation of course) many years ago.

Uschi, interesting that you have "poor knights" (arme Ritter?) in Germany, I mentioned the very similar English dish of that name on the Torijas thread, a version of that dish does seem to be pan-European (near pun unavoidable)

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Re: Los Huevos Rotos: Broken Eggs with Chistorra or Iberian

Postby Uschi » Thu May 24, 2018 11:05 am

Sue, it is a good way of using up leftover bread, milk and eggs. A quick and easy pudding that is enjoyed by all. Besides the ingredients were present in most households.

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Re: Los Huevos Rotos: Broken Eggs with Chistorra or Iberian

Postby karadekoolaid » Thu May 24, 2018 3:19 pm

We went to Cal Pep in Barcelona a few years ago, and just ate what they served up. The only thing we requested was ALL from the sea, no meat. (We´d eaten loads of ham and sausage, etc.)
One of the most delightful dishes was something akin to huevos rotos: whitebait (tiny little fish - called xonxos ) deep -fried then mixed with a barely cooked egg. A simple yet exceedingly tasty snack.
All the more so since we had to wait 1 1/2 hrs to get in :crying1 :crying1

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