Broas dos Santos

Description: Dry cakes of crumbly and compact dough, about 3,5 cm in diameter and weighing approximately 20 g. The golden-brown color results from being brushed with egg yolk. They have deep cracks caused by heat. They are sold in 0,5 kg packages.

Region: Lisbon and Tagus Valley.

Special feature: Small dry ball-shaped cakes, golden brown in colour and with an intense fennel flavour.

History: According to recipes inherited from close family members and traditional habits, these small broas were only made, as their name indicates, at the time of the Saints' Feasts (from November to Easter), during which they were abundantly consumed. For a few years now, the pressure of consumers and, above all, of Portuguese emigrants who return to the country only in the summer, has led to its manufacture outside the traditional season. This fact demonstrates the ingrained habits and the traditionality of the product that many, nostalgic, do not want to stop consuming even outside the Santos season.

Use: They are a much appreciated treat, not resisting the temptation to eat one more... They are also consumed as interim meals in the morning and afternoon, as a way to cheat hunger.

Know-how: The Algarve almond is peeled and cut very thinly, into slices. Then it is mixed with egg yolks, flour and fennel. It is this fennel that is the secret, both in its composition and in the quantity used, giving it an unforgettable taste. After everything is kneaded, balls are made that, before going to the hot oven, are brushed manually with egg yolk.

Source: Produtos Tradicioanis Portuguese, Lisboa, DGDR, 2001