Leche Frita - Fried Milk - Now how is that possible?

How can you fry milk you might ask yourself. So did I, but then my girlfriend showed me this Spanish recipe for Leche Frita. She asked me to put it on the blog, which I agreed as long as she made it. So here is my special guest chef doing her mother's version of this Spanish dessert.
Ingredients:
2 cups of milk (aprx. 0.5l)
3 tbsp Cornstarch (Maizena)
3 tbsp Sugar
Shredded peel of a lemon
1 stick of Cinnamon
Flour
1 Egg
Neutral oil

Finely grate the yellow part of the lemon skin and add it to the cold milk. If you see green on this picture, there's nothing wrong with your screen. She just used a lime instead.

Add the cornstarch, sugar and the cinnamon stick. Slowly bring it to a boil while stirring constantly.

Once it reached a light boil it will thicken. Keep stirring so it doesn't catch let it boil for 5 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick.

Then pour it on to a flat tray and let it cool off completely.

Cut it into squares of about 5x5 cm. It should now have thickened and become gelatinous.

Heat up about a cm of oil in a non-stick frying pan. Turn the squares in the flour and tap them lightly to remove excess flour.

Beat the egg and turn the flour dusted squares in it.

Carefully slip the squares in to the hot oil. Fry for about a minute or two. Them flip the over.

Fry on the other side until they are all golden.

And there you have it, fried milk or leche frita. Some people them dip them in sugar mixed with a bit of cinnamon powder. But that's up to you.

Guest blogger on Gastromand.dk

Just a quick note to say I've had my Judiones recipe published on a fantastic blog about food specially aimed at men. It's in Danish, but maybe you could have a sneaky peek using google translator:

http://gastromand.dk/david-skytte-tapas-spanske-k%c3%b8kken-judiones-de-la-granja/

Keep up the good work, Gastromand.dk, and I'll be back with some more recipes soon.

Øllebrød - Danish bear bread porridge

This is perhaps one of the more bizzare recipes you'll find on my blog and you might think I've lost my mind, but bear with me a second and let me explain. Øllebrød, which translates to 'beer-bread', was a traditional part of the Danish diet up until the 1800s. There are two competing theories of the origin of this dish. One claims that it originated in the monasteries where bread would be dipped in beer to soften it and the leftover beer mixed with crumbs would then be eaten the next day. The other theory have the peasant Danes throwing their leftover bread and beer into a large port above the fire. This would then slowly cook and eaten throughout the next day, morning and afternoon. I was introduced to it by my grandparents who used to cook it for me as a substantial breakfast during my summer holidays. And maybe because I've been raised on this stuff I don't find it as repelling as most of the people I've shown it to. It definetely won't be for everyone, but those who dares will be rewarded with one of the most solid breakfast I know. In fact, I've been eating this almost every morning for the last 6 or 7 years and notice a huge difference throughout the day the days I've had a different breakfast. Trust me, this is good for you. No more sugar coated cereals or white bread breakfast.

For the brave, you'll need:

500g dark, whole grain rye bread

1 can of beer (preferably dark beer, and don't worry, the alcohol will evaporate. It's perfectly safe for children)

2 tbsp sugar
Enough water cover it

Start by crumbling the bread in a pot with a thick base.

Add the sugar and pour in the beer. Pour water in until the bread is completely covered. Then cover it with a lid and leave it to soak overnight.

Heat it slowly while stirring now and again so it doesn't catch. You'll see the bread starting to disintergrate and form a paste. When this happens stir until it all has the consistency of porridge and you're done. It's that simple.

Some people prefer to eat it like it is, others with cream or whipped cream. Personally, I have it with cold milk as I love the contrast of warm and cold, bitter (bread) and sweet (milk).