Filloas

I suppose every family has its own culture which exists in relation to the larger community’s traditions.  Our culture is a mixture of Canadian, Andalusian Spanish, Galician Spanish or anything that strikes our fancy.  With plenty of poetic license, garlic and olive oil.

Filloas are a crepe like concoction traditionally eaten in Galicia for carnival.  Kids dress up in their carnival outfits, then bug the neighbours for hot-off-the-grill filloas, dipped in sugar.

Well, it wasn’t carnival last weekend but we were dressed up weren’t we!  Halloween was the perfect excuse to indulge in another moderately sweet, yummy carb-type treat.  Regardless of origin, carbs are a staple in this family’s culture.

Filloas are basically like a crepe, but don’t tell someone from Galica that.  The internet is full of forums arguing that a filloa is not a crepe.  It doesn’t have butter, but other than that…. sssshhh, don’t let my Galician father-in-law hear that I said a filloa is like a crepe.

Here is the recipe:

• 2 eggs
• half a litre of milk
• 250 grams of flour (ya, that’s how they measure here, by weight)
• 2 tbsp of oil
• 1 tbsp of sugar
• a pinch of salt
• the rind of a lemon

Blend it up and then cook them in a hot pan, you know, kind of like crepes.

I love the idea of handing out filloas for Halloween instead of candy, but in this day of wackos, paranoia and hygiene fanaticism, it just wouldn’t fly.  But wouldn’t it be fun on Halloween, to knock on the door and actually be invited in to a warm kitchen.  There you could roll up a piping hot crepe filloa, dip it in sugar, and stuff it in your mouth.  No plastic wrappers, no preservatives, no added colors or flavours.

Yago doesn’t really have the roll down, but he’s great at the stuff it in your mouth part.  Sans sugar.

So if you come to my house next year, either for Carnival or for Halloween, and you are willing to sit in the kitchen for a few minutes, I’ll whip you up some filloas.  As long as you are in costume.  Any takers?